Cutting Wave Crashdown
by Drysil's Chosen
Summary: After Shuuichi Ito narrowly survived a vicious attack by Captain Ichimaru, he is left stranded in the real world with a weakened body. Now, a dark secret looms, both without and within.
1. First Song

Shuuichi gripped the cold stone as hard as he could, trying to keep from falling, but his grip was loosening, and the sea breeze was whipping at his body. He groaned, and tried one more time to climb up the cliff another little ways, but his fingers were burning. He could see the top only a little bit above him, and above it, the yellow sky. Black-colored clouds were passing overhead.

He didn't know how much longer he could keep climbing… The roaring yellow waves below him crashed against the cliff, threatening to devour him. The black clouds above beckoned to him.

Finally, after a long few minutes, Shuuichi grasped the top of the cliff, and his tired arm began to pull, to hoist him up into safety.

Then a figure appeared over him. There was white hair, white clothes, and a blue mantle covering his face.

"K-Kirunami…?" Shuuichi dared to ask.

Hardly had the word left his mouth when there was a rustling, and the blue mantle came undone and flew away in the sea wind. The face underneath was not Kirunami at all. Shuuichi hardly had time to contemplate what he saw before the figure kicked him the face. His hands lost their grip. The last thing Shuuichi knew was falling down the cliff into the waiting, crushing waves below…

Shuuichi Ito awoke with a start from the nightmare, bathed in sweat. For a moment, he just lay there, clutching his sheets. It was still nighttime; the sun had not yet graced the horizon.

He shook his head exasperatedly, wiping the sweat off his forehead. He turned on the bedside lamp and looked into the mirror on the wall, rubbing his good eye. It's not that he was blind in the other eye; he just couldn't see as well out of it. Though Shuuichi couldn't really complain, as it was a miracle he even had the eye at all.

About a year ago, that eye had been completely gouged out. It wasn't an accident either. He had been in a fierce battle with a powerful man. A Captain, nonetheless. It amazed even Shuuichi that he could even regenerate something like an eye.

That was probably due to the fact that Shuuichi was not human. He was a Shinigami, a Death God, a spirit protector of the human world. He wasn't always that way, though.

Shuuichi was killed many decades ago by a Hollow, an evil spirit that ate souls, and the antithesis to the Shingami. The forceful transition into the afterlife almost turned him into a Hollow himself, but instead he developed Shinigami powers under the stressful circumstances. Shortly afterward, he went to Shinigami's world—Soul Society—and was fully trained and given a position in the 13 Court Guardian Squads. He also learned the name of his _zanpakutou_—the sword that a Shinigami carried, which had its own inner spirit.

However, he had faced many problems, and his own 12th Division Captain—Kisuke Urahara—suddenly abandoned Soul Society and disappeared. The new Captain, in Shuuichi's opinion, was far less kind, and very ruthless. Shuuichi left Soul Society and went searching for Urahara. Upon finding him, he realized the truth of his disappearance.

Urahara had made a terrible mistake. He had created Hougyoku, a powerful device that was capable of dissolving the barrier between Shinigami and Hollows. In other words, using the device could create a Shinigami-Hollow hybrid, far more powerful than any of the two spirits separately.

And someone else had been seeking that device, someone who had already been experimenting with hybrids, going so far as to make a Hollow—named Metastasia—who merged with his Shinigami friend Kaien Shiba, causing them both to be killed.

Urahara had decided to hide Hougyoku inside a Shinigami, and he needed Shuuichi to do so. But when Shuuichi successfully delivered Hougyoku to the real world, and Urahara took it away, a Captain appeared.

Gin Ichimaru, a servant of the one who sought Hougyoku, fought with Shuuichi… and Shuuichi lost. His eye was lost, his body torn, and his vocal chords shredded. Shuuichi had been left for dead, but Hougyoku was successfully hidden.

The door opened, and a blonde girl peeked in. "Are you alright, Shuuichi?"

Shuuichi looked over at her and raised his eyebrows.

"I heard raspy breathing… Did you have another nightmare?" She came in slowly, carrying a tall glass of milk.

Shuuichi smiled calmly in response. Though his eye had healed, his vocal chords were taking longer. Currently, he was only able to make raspy noises that only sounded somewhat like words.

"Okay… Sleep well…" said the girl, setting down the glass of milk and leaving the room.

Shuuichi sighed and looked back up at the ceiling. He didn't know how he survived that attack. Ichimaru had used _bankai_, the ultimate release of a shinigami's sword. Anyone else would have died instantly, and Shuuichi indeed went down seconds after the release. Yet, he didn't die…

After the battle, he managed to get a _gigai_—a false body—from Urahara, and eventually came to meet this girl, Kisa. She was a kind girl, and took Shuuichi in to live with her in Karakura Town, feeling pity for him. Shuuichi felt very grateful to her, and when he found out that she was in fact the great-granddaughter of Kue—his former girlfriend when he was alive—he figured she must have inherited that kindness.

Whatever happiness he felt at being alive was soon taken away when he had received the message on his spirit phone that he still had with him. Hougyoku had been stolen. All of Soul Society had been fooled by the man after the legendary item, Sousuke Aizen of 5th squad, and he finally managed to retrieve it from the Shinigami it was hidden in. That Shinigami had been arrested on false charges orchestrated by Aizen. Some teenagers from the real world, friends of the Shinigami—led by a boy named Ichigo Kurosaki—entered Soul Society and tried to rescue her, but in the end Hougyoku was taken.

Aizen, along with his subordinates Ichimaru of 3rd Squad and Kaname Tousen of 9th Squad, left Soul Society to go to Hueco Mundo, the world of the Hollows.

All that Urahara and Shuuichi had done was for nothing. But what had become of that Shinigami…? Rukia…

Shuuichi felt a sudden pulse of spirit force, coming from somewhere nearby. A Hollow. Shuuichi slowly sat up, and at his side materialized his sheathed _zanpakutou_. Over the past year, he had managed to materialize his sword even in a _gigai_, and even though he was no longer a part of Soul Society, he still felt that tug. The urge to protect the innocent from evil.

He crept out into the hallway, made sure Kisa was asleep, then quickly grabbed his jacket—a black jacket custom made with a white Hollow symbol on the front. The symbol was of a skull-shaped mask; the mask of bone was universal among Hollows, along with a hole in the chest, symbolizing the lack of a heart.

When he went outside, he could easily detect the Hollow only a few blocks down. It was a lot larger than the usual, possibly even a Huge Hollow. It should be enough to handle with his own spirit force.

Shuuichi unsheathed his _zanpakutou_ as he ran, and he saw the Huge Hollow enter the intersection ahead of him. Though human-like in general shape, it was monstrous and deep black in color, and its shoulders were hunched and hips set back as if it were naturally a four-legged creature imitating a human. This particular Hollow had black scales on its body, and its bone mask looked reminiscent of a crocodile's head. It was looking around, most likely searching for a human soul to devour.

It wheeled around to see Shuuichi standing there. It might have been confused, seeing someone holding a _zanpakutou_, but not at all looking like a Shinigami, but that did not matter; he still smelled like a Shinigami—a soul that was delicious for Hollows, if they could defeat one. The Huge Hollow chuckled hungrily and advanced. Shuuichi raised his sword, ready to strike.

The tense moment was quickly broken by a sudden burst of wheezing and loud footsteps coming around the corner behind him. Shuuichi jumped and turned to see if a new threat was coming, but was instead faced with another Shinigami.

He had a flushed face and an enormous afro, and was pumping his legs hard and wheezing. Shuuichi watched him incredulously as he skidded up to the intersection and stopped. The Shinigami looked at Shuuichi, Shuuichi's _zanpakutou_, the Huge Hollow, and back at Shuuichi.

"Who the hell are you?!" exploded the Shinigami in a loud voice.

Shuuichi just leaned back from the voice, raising an eyebrow.

"Aren't you going to answer?" The Shinigami laughed, and pridefully gestured at himself. "You must know who I am! I'm Zennosuke Kurumadani of 13th Squad! You don't recognize me?! You must not; you must be such a novice you forgot your Death God robes at home when you came to fight! Hahaha!"

Shuuichi stared. The Huge Hollow took that opportunity to punch forward. It hit the ground between them; Shuuichi managed to flash step out of the way, and the afro Shinigami jumped awkwardly backward.

"What was that?!" Kurumadani shouted noisily, unsheathing his _zanpakutou_ and charging the Hollow. It punched forward again, hitting the Shinigami right in the chest and launching him back several yards. "Argh, that hurt!!"

_Noisy little prick, huh…_ though Shuuichi, holding up his own _zanpakutou_. He looked down at it and concentrated. He had only once been able to release his sword without saying its name, and he hadn't been able to do it since. And even if he could speak, he doubted he could use _bankai_ without another extreme circumstance.

"K… k…" rasped Shuuichi, but he struggled hard with forming the vowels. He was frustrated; he knew his vocal chords were almost healed, he should be able to say at least one word!

"K… k… ki…" He managed to squeeze out one syllable before his throat started to burn. He grasped his throat angrily and held up his sword. Looks like he would have to fight at least one more time without _shikai_.

"Hold on there, novice!" said Kurumadani suddenly, stepping between Shuuichi and the Hollow. "Let the elite handle this!"

Shuuichi frowned at his back, but the afro Shinigami suddenly held out his sword, which began to glow orange.

"Good morning, Tsuchinamazu!" The blade flashed and rapidly shrunk to a small size. It morphed and spun around the back of his hand, the tip melding with the bottom end of the hilt. Tsuchinamazu was a chakram, bending over Kurumadani's knuckles and connecting at both ends to the hilt in his hand. A colorful ribbon spun out at one end of the handle.

Kurumadani offered a confident smirk Shuuichi's way then leapt forward brandishing the released _zanpakutou_ at the Huge Hollow. Shuuichi was still slightly stunned at the ridiculous release phrase, and had no time to stop the weak Shinigami.

Kurumadani leapt over the Huge Hollow's first punch and slashed downward cutting into its knuckles. He then landed on its forearm and leapt forward, going for the bone mask.

The Huge Hollow slapped the Shinigami away, who slammed into a wall and sank to the ground. It cackled triumphantly as it punched down at the slumped figure.

Shuuichi appeared instantly between them and easily stopped the huge fist with his comparatively small blade. Then with a quick spin of the _zanpakutou_, the Hollow's fist parted ways with the rest of its arm.

"W-What are you—" started Kurumadani but the Hollow was already roaring and punching forward with its remaining fist. Shuuichi slashed forward quickly, taking off three fingers and stopping the punch, then he flash stepped directly to the Hollow's side and cut into its left hamstring.

The afro Shinigami couldn't speak, watching the fight with amazement, and hardly catching Shuuichi's moves with his eyes. He became very humble, seeing just how weak he was in comparison to this particular Death God.

The Hollow roared again in pain and began to collapse, and Shuuichi quickly jumped up at the falling Hollow and rammed his sword through the base of its neck and slashed upwards, splitting its head in half.

Shuuichi landed deftly as the Huge Hollow dissolved—purified and sent to Soul Society as a Plus Soul. Kurumadani just looked up in awe.

"What are you, guy?" he managed to say. His _zanpakutou_ at his side returned to its released state, and he quickly tucked it back into its sheath. He hopefully awaited an answer, but the unfamiliar Shinigami remained mute. When the afro Shinigami noticed the scar along Shuuichi's throat, he began to see why.

Shuuichi just flicked the blood off his sword and sheathed it, walking away. He silently made his way back to Kisa's house, where she still lay sleeping even as the edges of the horizon began to glow, leaving Kurumadani behind in the ruined intersection.

He lay down in bed that night only slightly satisfied. Once again, he had been unable to release his sword, although he was still able to take down a Huge Hollow. However, what bothered him more was something that he had just begun to realize.

True, he could not speak, but what of Kirunami? He had not even heard his voice since the night he was defeated by Ichimaru. He realized that he had become lonesome, no longer hearing his _zanpakutou_'s voice echoing in his head.

_Kirunami…_Shuuichi thought. _Where have you gone?_


	2. Second Song

"Ichigo… Kurosaki…"

A loud tearing noise resounded throughout Karakura Town that night, only audible to those with high enough spirit force. In three locations around the town, the sky itself tore open, revealing a black swirling void. They were _garganta_, openings in dimensions that pierced right into Hueco Mundo itself.

Through them, they came. Three gigantic figures.

The first was a large, furry beast. A Hollow with a throaty cackle, carrying a large sheathed sword on its back. Its hands and feet were human-like, and even as it stepped into the real world, it put a hand on its mask and pushed the top up like a visor, revealing a human face.

"Ichigo Kurosaki!" This was Grand Fisher, a Hollow on a mission. It turned away immediately, seeking its quarry.

The second was an equally large beast, but entirely Hollow-like. The bottom of its body was shaped like a top, it had a spiky helmet-like structure, and it had a small face. It had no name, but sought the nearest human to devour. That human was a tall, glasses-bearing high-schooler carrying a shopping bag nearby.

The boy turned to narrowly see the Hollow's spear-like tongue coming, and he jumped out of the way just in time.

"A Hollow!" said the boy, Uryuu Ishida—one of those who went to Soul Society for Rukia. "It ripped through the fabric of space and appeared… A Menos, huh?"

The third gigantic Hollow that appeared had six strong legs arranged like an insect, though each one was a human leg. It's two arms had long claws on its fingers, and it had a mask that appeared to be a cross between human and serpent.

This Hollow appeared right near Kisa's house.

Shuuichi awoke again with a start, feeling the powerful waves of spirit force slamming down on him. In the other room, even Kisa jumped in her sleep, whimpering. Shuuichi was already sweating. This spirit force… it was on a scale far above the Huge Hollow he had fought a while ago.

He quickly jumped from the bed with his _zanpakutou_ and focused on the spirit force. As he did, he felt the Menos zero in on his own spirit force as well. It was well known, that a Hollow's favorite delicacy—if it could catch one—was a Shinigami, and this one had already found him.

Shuuichi sensed the Hollow coming closer, and he didn't need super hearing to hear its footsteps from this far away. They resounded throughout this part of the city.

He glanced back to his door, wondering about Kisa, then back to his window. He slid it open and peered out. The gigantic Hollow was only five blocks away, the _garganta_ closing up behind it.

_Menos,_ Shuuichi thought. It was the only explanation. Menos were an entirely different kind of Hollow, formed when many regular Hollows amassed and merged together. There spirit force was much greater.

However, Shuuichi also knew that Menos existed in three different classes. The lowest was Gillian, commonly referred to as "Menos Grande." These were the most common class and the weakest, and they all looked the same—extremely tall and black, and pointy-nose masks. Shuuichi was obviously not facing a Gillian.

The strongest class was Vastroode, so powerful, it could easily overcome a Captain, and it was rumored that even ten of these—if grouped together for a coordinated attack—could destroy all of Soul Society. They were almost exactly human-shaped. Shuuichi obviously wasn't facing this kind either.

He faced the middle class, Adjuchas. Shuuichi was sweating heavily, and he knew that if he fought as he had been lately, there was no way to win this fight.

The Shinigami leapt straight from the second-story window and landed in the street. He flash stepped almost as soon as his feet touched the ground, moving forward a block to get some distance from Kisa's house.

The Hollow stared down directly at Shuuichi as he appeared, its red eyes glowing through its mask Shuuichi felt the full onslaught of its spirit force, and he quickly diverted his gaze to the sword in his hands.

_Kirunami,_ he called out with his mind. _Where are you? Please speak to me!_

Nothing happened though. Shuuichi's body shook as he stared at the _zanpakutou_. He HAD to release, or there was no chance to survive.

"Shinigami." The voice echoed over the town, and Shuuichi looked up in surprise to see the Adjuchas smile evilly at him. Then it charged.

The Hollow crossed the distance of four blocks in little over five seconds, scuttling fast on its legs, and Shuuichi jumped into the air, expecting the inevitable forward punch. Instead came an uppercut, the curled fist coming up right under him and slamming into him.

He sailed backward through the air, mouth open in a silent scream. He reached out with his spirit power to try and anchor himself enough to get off a flash step, but the Hollow was already right in front of him again, and his body exploded in pain as the Hollow's hand curled around his body.

The next thing he knew, he was sailing through the air, and he slammed right into the third story of a nearby building. His body was wracked with pain as he fell down and landed on the ground, bleeding severely.

The battle hadn't even gone on for half a minute, and…

The Hollow was charging again, and Shuuichi held out his _zanpakutou_.

"Ba… yeh…" he rasped desperately. "Ba… Bare…"

The Hollow was stabbing forward with his fingers like spears. "You are mine, Shinigami!" Shuuichi managed to flash step to the side, but he had hardly landed when one of the Adjuchas six feet connected with him and sent him flying again. He tumbled down the street, almost losing grip of his _zanpakutou_. He slammed into a light pole, which bent over in front of him from the impact.

"Ba… Bare… Bare… yeh…" Shuuichi rasped again.

"You disappoint me, Shingami."

Shuuichi looked up again to see the Adjuchas standing before him, arms crossed before its chest. His throat was burning horribly, and he felt so close… Whether out of determination, or perhaps sheer terror, he wasn't sure, but he had come closer to speaking words than ever before.

He stood up again. "Bar…" Two feet connected with him, sending him flying through the light post and into the street again; the world spun around him as his body tumbled along the asphalt. His body was shaking from pain after coming to a stop, but he still weakly sat up to look up at the Adjuchas.

His breath caught in his throat. A red ball of energy was forming in front of the Hollow's mouth. It was a _Cero_. Taking that directly, as he was now, would almost certainly vaporize him. But he couldn't get out of the way in time… There was no way. The Hollow bent its head back, about to fire.

"Bare your fa… ngs…" Shuuichi started, and his heart leapt into his burning throat. "Kiru… na… mi!"

The _Cero_ fired just as Shuuichi raised his _zanpakutou_, and Shuuichi's eyes hardly caught what happened. His sword morphed, it's blade growing and snapping back on itself, becoming a teardrop-shaped double blade—each blade's edge pointing opposite. The release let loose a flood of Shuuichi's spirit power, which connected directly with the _Cero_. There was a large burst of blue and red energy, and _Cero_ shot up harmlessly into the night sky.

The Adjuchas rocked back in surprise, and Shuuichi rose to his feet, painful though it was.

"Fir… st… Song… _Shi… barikomu… Kawa…_" Shuuichi swung the sword and a stream of condensed water shot out and wrapped around the Adjuchas torso like a rope, pinning its arms.

_Die now, Hollow!_ thought Shuuichi, and once again, words came to him. New strength was filling his body.

"Second… Song,… _Suu… iki… o… wakareru!_" Shuuichi swung his sword upwards, and a great vertical beam of blue energy shot out of his _zanpakutou_ and streaked at the Menos. It connected!

Shuuichi's heart fell into his stomach. The attack connected perfectly, but it only severed the ropes he had bound it with. When the energy faded, there was only a faint bruise on the Menos' skin where the attack hit.

The Adjuchas chuckled at him, and charged again, stabbing forward with one hand, spear-like nails glinting in the moonlight. Shuuichi jumped under the arm toward one of the Menos' six legs.

"_Suuiki… o… Wakareru!_" This time he was close enough to hit the leg with the actual blade as he fired the attack, and it went all the way through in a blinding fury. The Menos screamed as its first leg fell away, but it reared up on its hind two legs and kicked out with the remaining three.

Shuuichi's vision was filled with stars and his head felt like he was splitting open. And for a moment, he didn't know which way was up, or even if he was on the ground or still flying through the air. He just knew that he was in pain—a lot of pain.

He recovered his sense to see that he was indeed on the ground—in a three-foot-deep crater in the street, in fact. He looked up dizzily into the face of the Adjuchas staring down at him.

The Hollow's mask cracked. The Hollow chuckled, slowly raising a hand and fiddling with the crack in his mask, prying at it a little bit.

"W-What… are you… doing?" Shuuichi managed to croak, finally able to speak to some degree, despite his burning throat.

"You don't know, Shinigami?" asked the Adjuchas in that echoing voice. "You don't know what happens when a Hollow removes its mask?"

Shuuichi's heart skipped a beat. He had heard of such a thing in the Academy, but he had been told it was so rare, it was virtually a legend. A Hollow removing its mask…

After prying the crack just a little wider, it said, "Then tell me, Shinigami… Do you know what happens when a Shingami _dons_ a Hollow mask?"

Shuuichi's body froze. Something deep inside him stirred, and his vision blurred over a little bit. It was as if his very brain was shaking in his skull, and it didn't feel good. Deep inside him, a voice cackled. He knew it wasn't Kirunami… It was someone else. Shuuichi tried to make eye contact with the Adjuchas, but something was eating away at his vision. Darkness was creeping into the corner of his eye.

The Hollow laughed. "I smell it. I smell it in you. The scent of a _Hollow!_"

It wasn't possible. Shuuichi tried blinking the darkness out of his eye, but it kept creeping in. Hollow? What the hell was he talking about?!

The voice inside only cackled louder, and suddenly Shuuichi's body unfroze. As if of its own will, his arm quickly raised the _zanpakutou_ to point at the Hollow's face. Strength began flowing into his arms. More strength than he thought he could possibly have.

The Adjuchas took a step forward, chuckling, and it pried a piece of the mask even more loose, a part that was covering his eye. Shuuichi could see a human eye staring out of the gap at him.

Shuuichi's arm snapped out seemingly on its own, and without thinking about it, he screamed, "_Suuiki o Wakareru!!_" The thin blue wave shot out and went right through the two nearest legs, and the Hollow roared in pain as they fell away.

It opened its mouth again, charging a _Cero_, and once again Shuuichi's body seemed to move on its own. He jumped into the air, right toward the Hollow's face, flipping sideways through the air like an acrobat.

The next _Suuiki o Wakareru_ that was fired off went right through the _Cero_—slicing it in half and dispersing it—and right through the Adjuchas head. It didn't even manage to get off a roar before its sliced head slowly dissolved, and the rest was gone as Shuuichi landed.

Shuuichi found his breathing almost coming as snarls, and the blackness started to fade from the corners of his eyes. His sword went back to its sealed form, and suddenly became incredibly heavy. All the strength that had been in his body was seeping away to wherever it came from, and he no longer could hold himself up.

Shuuichi fell over in the street, his sealed sword next to him. His wounds had stopped bleeding during his brief burst in the battle, but they started again, forming a small pool of blood.

"W-Who are you…?" Shuuichi groaned as his consciousness faded away.

"Name?" a cackling voice replied. "I don't remember being given one!"

Some distance away, a boy with short blonde hair, a school uniform, and a _zanpakutou_ in his hand was on a rooftop facing an orange-haired Shinigami. The boy cast a concerned look to the side.

"The Shinigami spirit force that just appeared…" he said to himself under his breath. "I don't recognize it. Who can it be?"

Without warning, the Shinigami turned and jumped away as the blonde boy was gazing into the distance.

"Hey, damn it!" he said, seeing the Shinigami leaping away. "Where ya goin', Ichigo? I'm not finished talkin' yet!"

"I'll pass!" shouted Ichigo behind his back.

"I said I'm not finished yet!"

"Whatever it is, I don't want to hear it!" said Ichigo. Stopping and casting a glare at the boy opposite him. "I don't care what kind of organization your so-called 'Vizards' is; I have no desire to become friends with you all! I am a Shinigami! I am not your friend!"

Ichigo then turned with a scoff and disappeared. The blonde boy sighed to himself.

"Jeez, this ain't gonna be easy." He pulled a cell phone out of his pocket and dialed a number. "Hello? It's Hirako. Is this Sarugaki-san's cell phone?" He then leaned away from the phone as a great amount of shouting came through.

"I couldn't help it. Ya don't have to shout in my ear! It's just a matter of time. Let's be patient." He then hung up the phone, setting his gaze in Shuuichi's direction. "I guess in the meantime, I got someone else to check out…"


	3. Third Song

Shuuichi turned the corner to once again stand in that small open area between the buildings, where sat a small shop. This time, it wasn't raining; it was bright and sunny, a rather cheerful atmosphere for how grave Shuuichi's mood was at the moment.

He wore his black jacket again, and now had a pair of dark sunglasses on. Two kids were in front of the store, the small red-headed boy whacking a black-haired girl with a broom and shouting.

Shuuichi only just began to step towards the store when the door slid open, and a man in green robes and a striped hat stepped out in his _geta_ sandals, fanning himself.

"You two really won't get much done if you continue fighting like this!" said Urahara. He smiled brightly and casually waved at Shuuichi. "And welcome back, my friend!"

Of course, Shuuichi shouldn't have really been surprised that Urahara seemed to have expected Shuuichi's arrival, so he walked up and passed Ururu and Jinta to enter the store. Tessai, Urahara's assistant, greeted him, and quickly went off to make some tea.

Urahara sat down and began, "So-o-o-o, what can I do for—"

"What's happening to me?"

The sudden question caused Urahara's smile to fade just a little bit. "Excuse me?"

Shuuichi remained standing, his face serious. "What's happening to me, Urahara? I just defeated an Adjuchas, which I should not have been able to do. I can't hear Kirunami's voice anymore."

Urahara's face had become very serious, and Shuuichi could see information flowing behind those eyes. Urahara knew—most likely _had_ known—what was going on, since the very beginning.

"I fought a Captain-level Shinigami. I was able to use Bankai and hold him off for a while, but once he used Bankai I was completely overpowered. Even at that level, I shouldn't have been able to defeat an Adjuchas without at least using Bankai. Right now, I am probably even weaker than when I fought Ichimaru. What is happening to me?"

Urahara lowered his head, hiding his eyes underneath his striped hat, and his face became shadowy.

"You said you can no longer speak to Kirunami," he started slowly. "Yet you were able to release your sword?"

"Yes…" said Shuuichi tentatively. "Somehow."

"Tell me… Did you hear a _different_ voice inside?"

Shuuichi's heart beat faster, though he wasn't entirely surprised that Urahara had known such a thing.

"Yes."

Urahara raised his eyes again, meeting Shuuichi's. "What happened when you touched Hougyoku?"

Shuuichi was slightly more surprised by this question. He had to think back to that night, a year ago. The night he traveled back into Soul Society temporarily, and laid his hands on Hougyoku, to take it and bring it back to Urahara to hide. Back then, the marble was uncovered, and Shuuichi had picked it up—examining it for a short time before placing it safely in its container. While he had examined it, his fingers tingled. Some of Hougyoku's power was leaking into him, going into his soul…

"You were affected by Hougyoku, were you not?"

Shuuichi paused for a moment. Tessai stood at the doorway silently, holding cooling tea. Ururu and Jinta stood outside, listening.

"Yes."

Urahara sighed. "Hougyoku is a device that breaks down the barrier between Shinigami and Hollow. You already know that, right?"

"I knew that. But I guess, I didn't quite understand what that meant."

"The eventual outcome differs, depending on whether you use it on a Shinigami or a Hollow. Either way, it gives one of those spirits some abilities of the other. When you touched Hougyoku, Shuuichi, you crossed that barrier."

Shuuichi sucked in his breath. "You mean… I'm part Hollow?"

"The voice you have heard lately should tell you that much. When a Shinigami crosses the barrier, he gains a mask and the power and abilities of a Hollow. When a Hollow is does it, he gains a _zanpakutou_, and partially removes its own mask. With Hougyoku, each kind of spirit draws closer to the other."

A black cat entered the room and settled into Urahara's lap. Shuuichi recognized it as the same cat he had seen when he first found Urahara in the real world. He stared at it curiously, sensing something odd about the cat.

"So, now I have a Hollow inside me," he said after a short silence. "What am I supposed to do about it?"

"I can't help you there, I'm afraid," said Urahara. He pet the cat, and said no more.

Shuuichi sighed and turned to go. When he did, Ururu and Jinta ducked from sight. Urahara rose to his feet, letting the cat to the floor.

"Where are you going?"

"To be on my own for a while. I don't want this Hollow inside me, however strong it supposedly makes me. I want to get rid of it."

Urahara just looked at him darkly, but made no move to stop him.

Shuuichi stepped outside, and Urahara stood at the door to watch the Shinigami leave. At that moment though, someone landed in the grass right in front of Shuuichi, catching him completely off guard. The blonde-haired boy took off his bowler hat and grinned at Shuuichi.

"H-Hey!" shouted Jinta. "Who the hell is that?!"

Shuuichi rocked back a step, but the blonde-haired boy simple went into a short bow.

"Shinji Hirako. Nice to meet you."

Urahara stood silently inside the door, watching, and Shuuichi was unsure of what to say. He did notice, however, that this boy's spirit power—although strong—felt very unnerving. It was like nothing he had ever felt before.

"Ah… You were a tough one to find, ya know?" Shinji began. His accent and smile reminded Shuuichi somewhat of Ichimaru, and he became more unsettled than he was to begin with. "When you came to this block, your spirit power just disappeared! I had to look around with my own eyes."

Shuuichi's _zanpakutou_ materialized in his hand, and he unsheathed it quickly. "Who are you and what do you want?"

Shinji just continued to grin. "I already told you who I am. And you're Shuuichi Ito. The thing I want is you."

Shuuichi's breath caught a little, and he quickly extended his sword to Shinji's throat. As he did though, a _zanpakutou_ also materialized in Shinji's hand and whipped out to meet it.

"Don't get so jumpy, it ain't nice," said Shinji. "I'm your friend."

"How so?"

"I'm just like you, Shuuichi. I've been keeping my eye on you for a while, and it seems like you're one of us. Wanna join us?"

"Who's 'us?'" asked Shuuichi, not pulling his sword away.

"Vizard!" announced Shinji gleefully, but that only left Shuuichi in more confusion. "You are a Vizard, just like me. That is to say, a Shinigami who crossed the barrier into Hollow territory."

Shuuichi rocked back again, and he finally pulled away his sword. "I don't believe you."

"It's true," came a voice from behind Shuuichi. The Shinigami whipped around to see Urahara walking toward him. At the same time, Shinji's eyes went to Urahara, and he lowered his _zanpakutou_ as well.

"This man is a Vizard, a Shinigami who donned a Hollow mask to gain greater power."

Shuuichi looked back and forth between Urahara and Shinji, who were locking their gaze.

"'Vizard,' you say? Then what's the name for a Hollow with Shinigami powers?"

"You shouldn't be messing with that kind," said Urahara. "It's my hope you never meet one anyway. Now, Shinji Hirako, I trust your intentions for Shuuichi are the best, right?"

Shinji stared for a little while, before resuming his grin. "Urahara-san… Of course! I only wish to teach this boy our ways. I wouldn't cause him any unnecessary trouble. It's the least I could do for the man who gave us Vizard a place to live."

Shuuichi was floored again. These two knew each other?

Urahara just grinned. "Shinji is an old acquaintance of mine, back when I was still developing Hougyoku! He is a natural Vizard, created without the use of Hougyoku, which is very rare indeed."

"I'm honored to be such a rarity in the world!" exclaimed Shinji. "Well, Shuuichi? What do you say to joining the Vizard?"

Shuuichi stared for a little while, trying to find words in response. Join an organization of Vizard, a hybrid of Hollow and Shinigami. But these people… these people would be the worst sort of criminals in Soul Society. But at the same time, they might be able to teach him what to do about his inner Hollow.

Before he could contemplate the decision much further, there was a deep tearing sound overhead, and they all looked up to see a _garganta_ opening in the sky far above them. Out of it shot a bright light, which streaked overhead and landed far in the east, causing the ground to shake.

"What was that?" shouted Shuuichi, steadying himself.

Urahara's eyes widened in surprise, which Shuuichi had almost never seen before. However those eyes quickly returned to seriousness and determination. He turned in his tracks.

"Yoruichi."

The cat, which had been standing in the doorway, suddenly began to glow a bright blue and emit spirit power, and it darted inside. Urahara quickly followed it. Shuuichi remained standing there, dumbfounded.

Then the spirit force fell over them. It was dark and heavy, and made chills roll up Shuuichi's spine. In only a few minutes, Urahara came darting out again with his cane, followed by dark-skinned woman with purple hair, just pulling on her orange jacket.

"Yoruichi Shihouin!" exclaimed Shuuichi, but there was no time for introductions. The woman quickly flash stepped and disappeared, and Urahara twisted the top of his cane and unsheathed his _zanpakutou_ from the shaft.

"Awaken, Benihime!" he shouted, and the blade transformed into an elegant Chinese sword.

"Urahara! What's going on?! What was that?" Shuuichi tried to ask, but it was too late. Urahara was gone.

Ururu and Jinta quickly ran inside and closed the shop up, and Shuuichi was left standing there, more dumbfounded than he had ever been in his life.

"He said ya shouldn't mess with them," came Shinji's voice from behind them, even as the spirit force continued to press down on them. "And for now, I would take his advice. The last thing you want is to run into one o' them in your current state. However, you should watch out. A great battle is coming, and soon. You want to make sure you've got enough strength behind you. So then, Shuuichi, will you—?"

"Forget it."

Shinji groaned, hoping to have gotten a different response. Shuuichi turned to face him.

"I don't know anything about what's going on here, but I certainly don't want to join you. You seem to talk as if having a Hollow inside yourself is fine. Well, I'm going to go on my own, and I'm going to get rid of my Hollow. I'm a Shinigami, not a Vizard, and it's going to stay that way."

Shuuichi turned away again, and in a flash step, he was gone, leaving Shinji alone in the middle of the clearing.

Shinji sighed again, searching for his cell phone for a second time. "So difficult…"

On the east side of town, two figures stood next to a crater, surrounded by dozens of dead bodies. One was human-sized, but the second was much taller, almost twice as large. Each one wore white jackets and _hakama_ pants, and each had a hole in their body—the smaller in his neck, the larger in the middle of his chest.

"Ugh…" sighed the larger, tan-skinned figure, named Yammy. He had the remains of a Hollow mask in the form of a bone jaw and teeth set under his human jaw. "Nasty!"

The smaller figure had the remains of his mask as half a helmet over one side of his head, with a horn coming off it. He was incredibly pale, and green lines came down from his green eyes to his chin. His name was Ulquiorra.

"Naturally," said Ulquiorra. "There's no way such thin souls could be tasty."

"But you see, I did it because these guys were looking at us like we're some sort of freak show!"

"These people can't see us. It's not like they were looking at you."

"I know that, but it still makes me mad! So? How many people should we kill?"

"Just one," said Ulquiorra stoically. "There is no need to kill anyone else."

"We're only killing one out of this whole herd?" bantered Yammy loudly.

"I've heard that there are at most three people in the living world with spirit power levels high enough that they could actually put up a fight. Everyone else is just trash."


	4. Fourth Song

Somewhere in Karakura Town, two men walked as the sun set. Two Shinigami, in fact, each in a _gigai_. They walked silently for a long time, until one of them—a handsome man with colored bangs—sniffed the air as they walked.

"Oh…" said Yumichika Arisegawa. "It smells like a Hollow. Should we clean it up?"

"No," said the bald man walking in front, Ikkaku Madarame. "It'd be a pain. There's that resident Shinigami called Kurumadani or something, right?"

"Hmm, you're right." Yumichika stopped, though, glancing back behind him, toward the spirit force. He mumbled to himself, "But, there's something strange about its smell for a Hollow."

A couple miles away, a _garganta _was opening again. Unlike the normal _garganta_ that Menos usually tore in the sky, this one slowly slid open like sideways elevator doors. A tall figure stepped out.

This man also wore the white jacket and pants. He had a hole slightly above the center of his chest, and long teal hair that hung down to his shoulders, and bangs that hung over one eye. He also had the remains of a mask: one side of the upper jaw—with only four teeth on it—was attached on one side of his face, with the bone reaching back beyond the back of his head and forming three large spikes.

He stared at the cityscape of Karakura Town with his silver eyes—with no pupils—as the sun was dipping below the horizon.

"The living world…" he said with a dark voice. Then he grinned. "It's gotta go."

As the sun disappeared beyond the horizon, and the sky began to darken, Shuuichi sat on an apartment rooftop, cradling his _zanpakutou_ and contemplating Shinji's offer. He was given the opportunity not to eliminate his Hollow, but place it under control. It wasn't such a bad offer, but…

These Hollows that have removed their masks… the ones that Aizen had supposedly gained control of… How powerful were they really? Shinji had hinted that Shuuichi would be able to gain much more power by controlling his Hollow than destroying it, but Shuuichi had to know what he was up against. And that test was coming soon.

For the last hour or so, he had felt the presence of some kind of strange Hollow. It felt very similar to the spirit force he had felt some time ago, when he had talked to Urahara and Shinji. One of the Hollows that had crossed the barrier into Shinigami territory.

Luckily, that last presence hadn't been around for long. He assumed that Urahara and Yoruichi had driven it away, but the current Hollow had been around for an hour. He could feel it off in the distance, not moving very much, and he wondered what was going on.

Shuuichi didn't move. When the last incident occurred, Urahara and Shinji told him not to get involved. That was only one reason he remained there, though. Since he found out about the truth inside him, he didn't feel as confident anymore. How could he fight Hollows… when he had one inside of him?

The sun had completely gone down now. The Hollow was moving now, to his left, and he began to clutch his _zanpakutou_ tightly. So far there had been no signs of battle, so Shuuichi wondered if the Hollow would actually stop to fight him.

It wasn't long before Shuuichi's senses suddenly screamed at him. More spirit forces were appearing out of thin air. There were five… They felt the same as the presences he had been feeling lately, but not as intense. They were strong enough tough, that they might even be Menos.

Shuuichi stood up silently and unsheathed his _zanpakutou_. It was coming.

A figure suddenly appeared right in front of him. Shuuichi looked up in confusion at the teal-haired figure directly in front of him, confused. He had expected a Hollow, but instead… Shuuichi narrowed his eyes as he noticed the jawbone remains of a Hollow mask on the man's face, and a _zanpakutou_ at his hip.

"A powerful Shinigami…" said the figure, grinning. "Looks like I got lucky after all. It seems as if Grimmjow is trying to take over the area, but I get to have you all to myself."

"Who are you?" asked Shuuichi darkly. "You have the remains of a Hollow mask… and a hole in your chest, and a _zanpakutou_. You must be a Hollow who gained Shinigami powers."

"Ah… you're very well informed, Shinigami. To save time, you can call me an 'Arrancar.' It's the name for what you just said. If you want to know my true name, then let me introduce myself."

He swept into a short bow. "Arrancar Sexto: Arturo Plateado."

"Arturo?" asked Shuuichi, raising an eyebrow. "My name is Shuuichi Ito. You said 'sexto'… What does this mean?"

"It means I'm number 6. Or at least, I _was_ number 6, before the artificial Arrancar replaced me. I happened to meet the man who replaced me tonight. After a short 'conversation,' I learned that he was a man named Grimmjow, who served under one 'Aizen-sama.'"

"Aizen!" remarked Shuuichi, the image of the Shinigami captain flashing through his mind. "So you don't serve him?"

"I serve no man! I am a member of the old Espada, who served no one, and wished only to kill Shinigami!"

Arturo suddenly vanished, and Shuuichi reacted instantly, holding his sword out to the right to block a sudden strike. The impact shook his body and caused his sword to vibrate, but Shuuichi blocked it soundly.

But his mind was shaken when he saw Arturo's bare hand pressed against the edge of his blade.

"Bare hand? But how…?"

Arturo grinned and disappeared again, and Shuuichi spun around in time to see the Arrancar reappear directly behind him.

"Flash step!" Shuuichi gasped, deflecting the second chop of Arturo's hand. This chop was harder, but the Shinigami still got the horrible feeling like Arturo was just playing with him.

"Wrong!" shouted Arturo. "It is _Sonido_!"

Shuuichi was prepared when Arturo disappeared a third time, and he instantly released his sword, swinging Kirunami to block from above. Arturo chopped into the blocking sword, still unharmed, then punched forward, hitting Shuuchi directly in the chest.

Shuuichi grunted, falling to his knees, then received a swift kick in the face, which sent him flying into the wall of the rooftop. Arturo just laughed gleefully and landed on the ground.

"I was hoping for more of a challenge than this. You have a higher spirit force than most of the other Shinigami in this town right now. Maybe I should have gone to find the young Captain that came to the living world."

"C-Captain?" started Shuuichi, but Arturo quickly rushed up again and grabbed Shuuichi by the shirt, tossing him across the roof. This time however, Shuuichi landed squarely.

"Second Song, _Suuiki o Wakareru!_"

Arturo was taken slightly by surprise, and he took the hit directly, but just like the Adjuchas that Shuuichi fought before, the attack left little more than a long bruise on the Arrancar. Shuuichi's heart sank into his stomach.

"Hahaha!" laughed Arturo gleefully. "If that was the best attack you can pull off, this fight will be shorter than I thought!"

"Oh?" came a voice behind Arturo. "I guess ya weren't counting on me then, were ya?"

Shinji stepped onto the rooftop, _zanpakutou_ unsheathed. Arturo turned slowly and glared at the Vizard.

"Who the fuck are you?"

"Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Arrancar. My name is Shinji!"

"Another Shinigami? You vermin are all over the place tonight, aren't you?"

"Oh, I ain't a Shinigami. After all, having a part of a mask and a hole in your chest don't make you a Hollow now, don't it?"

Arturo raised his eyebrows, but Shinji just raised a hand and held it in front of his face, grinning. Arturo's eyes widened even further when a blue light began to form around Shinji's hand and spread over his face. At the same time, the whites of his eyes became black, and his irises became electric yellow. Shuuichi's face became a little pale.

"Shinji… You're not…"

Shinji pulled his hand away, revealing a Hollow mask that had formed over his face, looking almost like it could have come from the Aztecs. Shinji chuckled, but his voice was paired with another voice; it was a high, reverberating voice, and it reminded Shuuichi a little of the voice he had heard inside himself.

"W-What?!" exclaimed Arturo, stepping away from Shinji. "What is this?!"

"I told you, didn't I? I ain't a Shinigami!" Shinji then leapt forward, slashing at Arturo, who blocked it with his forearm. Arturo grimaced and leapt backward though, a line of blood on his arm.

"You cut my _Hierro_…" Arturo then leapt forward, stabbing at Shinji rapidly with both his hands. Shinji blocked both acrobatically, then flipped over him, kicking him in the back of the head.

This exchange continued for some time, before Arturo finally decided to get a little more serious. He drew his sword.

"Oh, it seems you're really ready to fight, aren't you?" chuckled Shinji, his yellow eyes glowing through the mask.

As they continued to fight, Shuuichi had risen back to his feet. However, his body wasn't moving again. Seeing Shinji with his mask on had sparked a change in him once again. His body had frozen, his vision was wavering…

"_Shuuichi_," called the voice within him. "_You are pathetic_."

_No…_ thought Shuuichi. Darkness was creeping into the corners of his eyes.

"_You can't fight without me! You're going to die!_"

"Leave me alone… Leave me alone!"

Arturo parried another attack by Shinji, and cast a curious glance Shuuichi's way. Then he quickly disappeared into another _Sonido_. Shuuichi sucked in his breath, knowing there was nothing he could do. A knee was delivered directly into his stomach and he flew back, screaming in pain, and slid to the ground.

And still he couldn't move. He received another kick in his side that sent him rolling before Shinji intercepted him. Shuuichi heard more clashing of blades, but his vision was already half gone to the darkness.

"_Shuuichi… You really are pathetic…_"

Shinji deflected a powerful thrust by Arturo and backed up a little.

"You're as good as they say," chuckled Shinji, taking a heavy stance and holding his sword back.

"You haven't seen anything yet!" laughed Arturo, punching his arm forward. Shinji didn't even have time to gasp, for there was a blue flash, and Shinji was suddenly flying backward, body wracked in pain.

He did a backflip and reached out his spirit force, anchoring himself in midair. "_Bala_!" Shinji did gasp this time, for Arturo was raisng his hand again.

Then he had to stop, for there was a rushing of water. A long rope of water appeared from the side, but instead of Arturo, it curled around Shinji, holding him in place.

"What?!" grunted Shinji, struggling against the bonds.

Arturo was taken aback, and turned to see what had happened. He faced headlong into a vertical black wave of energy rushing right for him. Arturo jumped up and to the side, also anchoring himself in the air, but he grimaced in pain as his left hand was caught in the blast, removing all of his fingers.

"GAH!!" Arturo held his fingerless hand before his face and grimaced, then looked up in Shuuichi's direction. His mouth fell open.

Shuuichi's eyes had become yellow and black, just like Shinji, and a partial Hollow mask had formed. A gigantic bone maw with jagged teeth had formed over the bottom of his face. Shuuichi opened the maw and growled, steam issuing from it.

"No way…" remarked Arturo, stepping backward. "You're one of them…"

Shuuichi cackled in a reverberating voice, then lunged forward with Kirunami, laughing insanely. Arturo fell backward and blocked, but the strike was much more powerful than he ever expected. He even felt the strike travel up his arm.

Arturo jumped backward and grimaced at Shuuichi, but then he raised an eyebrow when the new Vizard shifted its gaze to Shinji and growled. Shinji—struggling against his bonds—sucked in his breath under his Hollow mask.

"_Suuiki o Wakareru_!" Shuuichi cried in his high, reverberating voice, and launched a black wave at Shinji. Shinji's hand tightened around his _zanpakutou_. He was left with no choice.

"Scream, Tenryuu Hakkenyoru!"

Arturo saw the black _Suuiki o Wakareru_ connect with Shinji at the same time the water ropes around him burst open, and there was a massive black explosion. But hearing what Shinji had just said made him raise his own _zanpakutou_ defensively.

Shinji was holding up a large scythe defensively, the blade shaped like a dragon's head on the back end. Shinji slowly lowered the scythe and scanned the situation. Each combatant was standing an equal distance from the other two.

"A free-for-all, eh?" Shinji noted.

Shinji leapt at Arturo at the same time as Shuuichi did. He slashed forward with his Tenryuu Hakkenyoru, which Arturo blocked, then had to swing to the side to bat away a thrust by Kirunami. Arturo then stabbed at Shuuichi and kicked out at Shinji's face. Shuuichi and Shinji blocked both, but while Shinji retaliated at the Arrancar, Shuuichi stabbed at Shinji's exposed side; Shinji had to desperately dive out of the way.

As the three-way battle continued, it became clear that Shinji was the one at the greatest disadvantage. He had to end the battle quickly, but to do that, he would need to defeat Arturo first.

Shinji swung his scythe in a circle, and the blade popped off the staff, attached by a long extending chain. The blade swung around him rapidly, and with a quick motion, it went shooting toward Arturo. The Arrancar beat it away, and Shinji had to draw it back quickly to block another black _Suuiki o Wakareru_ shooting his way.

Shuuichi then turned his attention toward Arturo and shot more water ropes, and they wrapped around Arturo's sword. Arturo grimaced and tried to break the bond, but they held fast. Shuuichi was coming up fast, so Arturo quickly whipped the tip of his sword into its sheath and slammed it in, finally breaking the water ropes. He then dodged a quick swing by Kirunami and kicked Shuuichi in the face to shove him away. The Vizard seemed hardly phased, and snarled at Arturo.

Arturo then raised his free hand toward Shinji, pointing two fingers. A dense ball of dark energy formed in front of his hand.

"No!" said Shinji, swinging his scythe forward; it glowed bright purple and became surrounded in energy. The scythe flew forward just as the _Cero_ fired. The blast got deflected by Shinji scythe, but the weapon went blasting backward, and Shinji's scythe got extended to its maximum, almost 100 feet behind him.

Shuuichi appeared right between the two, coming out of a flash step, and slashed forward at Arturo. The Arrancar blocked the strike, though Shuuichi went dashing out behind him.

Shinji swung his scythe around and lashed it out at Arturo as Shuuichi finished his strike, and the Arrancar deflected that strike out behind him as well. It went shooting off behind Shuuichi, who turned and watched the flying blade.

Shinji whipped the chain, which suddenly caused the blade to go flying in Shuuichi's direction. Since it was farther off, Shuuichi raised his Kirunami to block just the chain. Arturo turned curiously around, but he was a little too late.

The scythe rapidly came around toward Arturo, using Shuuichi as a pivot point, and though he tried to draw his sword, he couldn't do more than place his hand on it before the blade was there. It cut right through his _Hierro_ skin, and before Arturo knew it, his right arm was falling away.

"Damn it!!" screamed Arturo, and he jumped away from the battle. With a quick poke of his remaining fingerless hand in the air, a _garganta_ opened up. "I'll be back, you bastards!!" With that, Arturo disappeared back into Hueco Mundo.

Shinji had another thing to be concerned about though, for his scythe's chain had wrapped completely around Shuuichi, and the blade was coming in toward him. Shinji couldn't divert it.

Shuuichi flash stepped directly out of the wrapping chain just as the blade passed through, and reappeared before Shinji. Shinji grimaced and pulled the blade back, retracting the chain back into the shaft. Shuuichi was raising his _zanpakutou_ though, and darting forward. The scythe blade was coming back faster, but perhaps still not fast enough.

Shinji could see the yellow shine of Shuuichi's eyes getting closer, the steam coming out of the bone maw, and the shining tip of Kirunami coming for his face.

The blade snapped into the shaft, and Shinji quickly snapped it in front of him, returning it to its sealed form. He managed to knock Kirunami out of the way just in time, then quickly slashed downward and jumped away.

Shuuichi stopped and stared at Shinji with wide eyes, and Shinji sighed, dissolving his Hollow mask. Shuuichi's partial mask fell away in two pieces away from his mouth, and the black vanished from his eyes. He was only standing for a moment longer though, before falling to the ground unconscious.

"Way too close…" remarked Shinji, looking down at the unconscious boy, who likely wasn't going to awaken for a couple days. Shinji and Shuuichi had both come very close to death. Shinji managed to drive off Arturo for now, but he was lucky. Even now, he was so very exhausted he could hardly stand. He had never fought an Arrancar before…

However, Shinji sensed that most of the other Arrancar spirit forces in Karakura had been extinguished, with only one remaining. This last one, however, was more powerful even than Arturo had been. Shinji knew at the moment, it would be too much for him. Even if Shinji learned a lot from his first Arrancar battle, and could adapt, he was far too weak.

He had heard what Arturo had said to Shuuichi before Shinji got involved. Arturo used to be number 6. He used to be one of the Espada. That meant…

Shinji stiffened as he heard another _garganta_ open up directly behind him. He hardly dared to turn around, to face what he was sure was his untimely doom. He did anyway, though, and came face to face, with not an Arrancar, but a Shingami.

A Shinigami with white robes, a visor, and orange tassels draped over his shoulders.

"C-Captain… Tousen…"

Tousen's blind eyes narrowed as the _garganta_ closed behind him, and he calmly reached over and partially unsheathed his _zanpakutou_.

"Cry out, Suzumushi."

Shinji didn't have time to react before a high ringing pervaded the air around him, filling his ears, his head, ringing in his very soul. And everything went dark.

As Shinji fell unconscious beside Shuuichi, Tousen replaced his Suzumushi, and focused on the remaining spirit force in Karakura Town.

"Grimmjow."


	5. Fifth Song: Part 1

(Since the scene of this chapter changes often, I separated each scene with a "(b)" so you can just ignore those)

The warehouse door was already open when Shuuichi got there. He could feel the odd spirit force of the Vizard leaking out, so he figured there was no way to miss them. It looked dark and empty inside, but he strode in anyway.

Almost as soon as he entered, the place seemed brighter, and Shuuichi instantly saw the figures sitting around in the center of the warehouse. The place was little decorated, but this is where the Vizards made their home.

There was Shinji on the couch, across from a girl with glasses and braids reading what appeared to be a porn magazine. A man with an afro was reading a manga, and a well-groomed Vizard with long blonde locks was listening to music on a portable CD player. There was also a green-haired girl in tight clothes with goggles, and an older pink-haired man, and a serious-looking man with silver hair. Lastly, there was a short blonde-haired girl with a mean face that was chasing around and screaming at an orange-haired boy.

Orange-haired boy?

Shuuichi stared. This orange-haired boy… He matched all the descriptions: spiky orange hair, a face that seemed severe and kind at the same time, a badge on his belt bearing the Hollow symbol. This had to be Ichigo Kurosaki, the boy that attempted to save Rukia from her imminent death.

All the Vizards turned at once to stare at Shuuichi, and he suddenly felt very uncomfortable. Some were stares of curiosity, some were stares of excitement, and one—the short, blonde girl—was simply a stare of annoyance.

"You were right, Love…" said the man with long blonde locks, named Rose. "He did come after all."

"For a while, I thought I was going to be wrong," said Love, the man with the afro.

"Welcome, Shuuichi Ito," said Shinji, looking up at Shuuichi and grinning.

(b)

"So… I've said that I'm going to join you," said Shuuichi, sitting with the group a few moments later. "Can you at least tell me what's going on?"

"You should've already guessed it," said Shinji. "Aizen is using it already. The Hougyoku, that is. With his power, he's able to pump out lots of Arrancar with the many Hollows available to him in Hueco Mundo."

"He's already using it? I could tell that the Arrancar we fought was at least Adjuchas level; is he making Vastroode Arrancar too?"

"Maybe. We don't really know though. But let me tell you something… Arturo said he used to be something called 'Espada.' The Espada were a collection of ten elite Arrancar in Hueco Mundo. Their powers were beyond any other Arrancar, and were always at least Adjuchas level. They are given a number one through ten as well, with one being the strongest."

"So, Arturo is the sixth strongest out of all the Arrancar in Hueco Mundo?"

"Yes. Although, now that the Hougyoku is being used, it appears that Aizen is completely reforming the Espada with his own artificial and stronger Arrancar. Arturo was replaced by one named 'Grimmjow.'"

Shuuichi stared at the ground. "Why is he doing this? And how do we stop him?"

Shinji's face suddenly became very dark. "We were told that Aizen intends to kill the Spirit King of Soul Society," he said bluntly.

For a moment, Shuuichi simply didn't register those words. The Spirit King was the absolute figurehead of Soul Society; though he held no political power. He was really more like a legend, existing in a separate dimension from Soul Society itself and having his own royal guards.

"He's amassing an army to collect 100,000 souls in Karakura Town, and use them to create the Royal Key needed to enter that dimension. That way, he can kill the Spirit King and replace him as the ruler of everything."

Shuuichi broke from his shock to stare up at Shinji. It was amazing; Aizen was planning to overthrow the King and replace him… At least, it seemed amazing at first. But when he considered how much Aizen had gone through to obtain Hougyoku, somehow it didn't seem as farfetched.

"How did you find this out…?" breathed Shuuichi.

"Soul Society contacted the young Captain Hitsugaya about it. They sent one of Ichigo's friends, Orihime Inoue, to come and tell us… You also asked how to stop him, didn't you? Let's start by turning you into a mature Vizard."

(b)

"We're going to cycle out. Ten minutes each, and there are eight of us. We'll see how long it takes for Shuuichi to defeat his inner Hollow."

"You mean seven, Shinji! Hachigen has to maintain the barrier, like he did for me!"

"Idiot, you're the one that's replacing Hachi, Ichigo."

"Why do I have to?! I just finished my own training!"

"Who said you're not still training? This is a perfect warm-up."

Shuuichi watched the debate between Shuuichi and Ichigo, but he was still very nervous. They stood underground in a chamber very similar to the one under Urahara's shop, like when he fought Kirunami to attain _bankai_. He wasn't completely surprised, remembering how Shinji said Urahara was the one to give them a place to live.

And now, he was about to undergo his final training. After previous training to determine his approximate level of spirit power, the Vizard knew how much force they would have to use—and what level barrier to use around the area—when fighting Shuuichi.

They would be fighting him… He didn't quite understand why, but they had sounded worried. A few of the weaker Vizards were even worried about being possibly killed.

"Okay, Shuuichi," said Shinji at last, walking up to him. You're going to do your training now… Are you ready?"

"Yes…" said Shuuichi nervously. "What's going to happen?"

"You're going into your inner world… To fight your Hollow."

Shuuichi was about to say something like "What?!" but instead, he saw Shinji's hand hovering in front of his face for a split second. Then everything went black.

Shinji stepped away from Shuuichi's falling body. "Okay, Hachi. Make the barrier… I'll fight him first."

It wasn't long before Shuuichi's body moved again. The boy growled and looked up, his eyes becoming black and yellow. Hollow Shuuichi was taking over.

(b)

The sea breeze whipped around Shuuichi again. He looked down at his body… He was wearing his Shinigami robes again, an odd sight for him. In his hand was Kirunami in _shikai_. The yellow sky above had black clouds, just like in his dreams. This time though, there were many more clouds.

Shuuichi looked up, the top of the mountain looming above him. The figure he had seen before was standing there, and his heart began palpitating. He could see it clearly now… The figure was wearing white Shinigami robes, and had white hair and skin. The blue mantle was wrapped around his right hand and was flying out to the side in the wind.

And he had Shuuichi's face.

"Yo."

Shuuichi gripped his _zanpakutou_ hard, grinding his teeth.

"I thought of a name for myself," said the figure. "You want to hear it? My name is Shuuichi."

Shuuichi felt as if he had received the very worst insult.

"You… are not… Shuuichi," he grunted.

"Maybe not yet. But after today, I will be everything that is you." He raised his hand and let the blue mantle flap in the wind in front of him. "But I have another name. You recognize a different form now, because it changed so much after you touched Hougyoku."

The mantle flew away, and he was holding a pure white Kirunami. "I am Kirunami."

Shuuichi growled. "You are not Kirunami!"

"I am the source of your power! The source of your power is Kirunami, just as it always was. Only now, you see _me_ in your inner world instead. If you don't like it, then come and defeat me. If you want to command me, then come and command me."

"_Suuiki o Wakareru!_"

Shuuichi sent the wave immediately, but Anti-Shuuichi shortly after screamed the same thing, though the wave he sent was black. The blue and black attacks hit each other and rocketed off at different angles, dissolving as they traveled over the sea.

Shuuichi was already on the move though, charging the hill just as his opposite was charging down at him. Their swords smashed against each other, but neither gained an inch. They leapt apart and came at each other again, hitting each other's blades with identical strikes.

Shuuichi somersaulted to the side, but even in mid-roll, he could see his opponent doing the same thing. Then he was surprised to watch Anti-Shuuichi streak off in a flash step, and Shuuichi came out of the roll a little too late. His opponent came back in and slashed him hard across the stomach.

"Gah!" screamed Shuuichi, lashing back. "I won't let you win!"

"I already have!" shouted Anti-Shuuichi gleefully, cackling as he came in again. The battle continued as they exchanged blows, but Shuuichi began to fear that he was right… The slash across the stomach was quickly draining his energy.

His opponent came in once again, slashing for his head. He managed to block and slide the blade away, but his opponent quickly spun around and struck Shuuichi in the shoulder. Shuuichi grunted and stabbed forward, but then was taken aback when Anti-Shuuichi caught the tip of his Kirunami within the gap of his own white Kirunami.

"It's over…" The white Shuuichi grinned. "_Suuiki o Wakareru!_"

The blast shot straight upward, and Shuuichi was thrown backward by the force of the attack. He slammed into the ground and tumbled down the hill for about fifty feet before finally skidding to a stop, facedown in the dirt.

His body was wracked in pain… But that pain was nothing when he looked up to see his _zanpakutou_. Kirunami was broken. The tip had been broken off, so all that was left was two outward-curving blades with broken ends.

"See…" taunted Anti-Shuuichi. "What you hold isn't even the real Kirunami. It got broken so easily by one attack!"

Shuuichi couldn't look away from his broken sword. The fractured edges were even smoking a little bit. Kirunami… He had used the same tactic as Shuuichi when he had fought…

"Hey… Look at me!!"

A foot came in and slammed into Shuuichi's face, splattering his nose and taking out his vision for a couple seconds. He tumbled backward some more, rolling down the hill before coming to a stop.

When he did grind to a stop, a white hand roughly grabbed his robes and hoisted him into the air.

"Yo…" said Anti-Shuuichi. "Do you really give up that easily?! I saw you fight that Menos a long time ago, and you just gave up! That's why I had to come in and save your ass! And then when that Arrancar attacked, I saved your ass again! You are freakin' useless!"

Shuuichi distantly felt himself shaken roughly. His senses were fading.

"I'm not gonna save you anymore. I'm going to crush you and take over. You used to be a guy who wanted so badly to protect those around you, but now you're so afraid of failure, you won't even stand up for yourself! You're pathetic!"

Shuuichi's senses jolted back into reality as he felts something ram into his stomach and burst out his back. His eyes twitched, halfway not wanting to look down at himself. But he did, slowly, to see Kirunami's white hilt sticking out of his stomach, soaked in his own blood.

"You're not worth keeping. You're nothing but dirt to me now."

Anti-Shuuichi ripped the blade out with a violent jerk, and Shuuichi screamed out in agonizing pain as he felt some of his lower organs shredding. That only caused his opposite to chuckle as he lowered his bloodsoaked _zanpakutou_.

This was the same… Shuuichi was utterly defeated. He couldn't stand up to Ichimaru, he couldn't stand up to Arturo, and he couldn't even stand up to his own inner Hollow. He felt the feeling draining out of his legs.

Where had it gone? His desire to protect… He tried to protect Rukia, but in the end, it failed. Hougyoku was stolen, Rukia likely dead at the hand of Captain Aizen. It had all been for nothing.

Shinji had almost died. Shuuichi couldn't control his inner hollow, and Shinji had almost been slain at his own hand. It had all been for nothing.

His life was bleeding away below him; the only reason he wasn't on the ground was that he was held up by the figure who represented everything bad within him. The bad parts of him had destroyed the good. It had all been for nothing.

Anti-Shuuichi looked serious. "I'm glad…" he said calmly. "I'm glad I won't have to sit back and watch you disappoint me anymore."

He let go of Shuuichi.

(b)

Shuuichi slammed onto the soles of his feet, and quickly regained his balance. He wasn't on the hill anymore. He didn't have a wound in his stomach anymore. He was not in his robes anymore; just his black hoodie. And his _zanpakutou_ was sealed in his hand, in the form of a normal katana.

He was standing in the street of Karakura Town at night. The street lights hummed quietly, and the moths floated around them. The air was deathly still, and not a creature stirred but for the insects that floated by.

A blade hummed as it flew right next to his ear, even nicking into it just enough to sting. Shuuichi yelped and dove forward into a roll, coming back up to face his attacker. What he saw defeated any previous surprise he had yet experienced that day.

"Ya shouldn't space out like that, ya know? Someone could get hurt." The figure came out of the darkness, wearing the white _haori_ robe of a Captain.

"Imposs…" started Shuuichi, his words catching in his throat. "I… don't understand."

"There's a lot ya don't understand, isn't there… boy?"


	6. Fifth Song: Part 2

"Shoot him dead, Shinsou."

Shuuichi managed to release his _zanpakutou_ in time to divert the spearing blade from his chest, and it instead went shooting over his shoulder. It was such a narrow miss though, that the cloth covering his shoulder tore just from the massive wind current.

Shuuichi jumped backward, his eyes wide.

"Why… Why are you here?!"

Ichimaru just smiled enigmatically. "I wonder why… Can you guess?" He leapt forward and slashed, and Shuuichi blocked it soundly, though he could easily feel the strength of the Captain's body ringing through his blade.

Shuuichi slashed in return, but Ichimaru danced out of the way and shot off his Shinsou again. Shuuichi held up his Kirunami and caught the blade within the gap, just like he did with his first fight.

Ichimaru grinned. Shinsou swung upward, before Shuuichi could react, and the young Vizard was pulled upward through the air as he hung onto his _zanpakutou_.

"Want me to give ya a clue?" called Ichimaru as Shuuichi arced through the air. "You're in your inner world, right? In here, you're much more in touch with your emotions, and your experiences. Now, ya may ask, what does that have to do with me?"

Shuuichi gathered energy around his blade, trying to free himself as began to fly downward, but there was a silver flash; Shinsou slid out of the gap, cutting the tip of Kirunami in half. Shuuichi lost the gathered energy, and plummeted into the ground.

Shuuichi quickly came out of the smoke and launched a _Suuiki o Wakareru_ Ichimaru's way. The Captain sidestepped the wave, but then saw the water ropes coming to lash him.

The Captain got wrapped in the _Shibarikomu Kawa_ and was held fast. Shuuichi came up to slice his throat, but then had to roll to the side as the Shinsou in Ichimaru's hand automatically extended to meet him.

When Shuuichi rolled back up to his feet, he saw Ichimaru breaking the water ropes and pointing the blade his way.

"Regret is the answer," said Ichimaru, giving Shuuichi pause. "You see me because ya have an overwhelming regret about our battle with each other. You felt like ya couldn't protect Rukia-chan, is that right?"

Shuuichi froze in place, his eyes wide.

"Despite how ya held me off, in the end, your efforts were for nothing. Poor Rukia-chan got captured after all."

"You can't be right," said Shuuichi, tightening his grip on Kirunami.

"I guess we'll see…" chuckled Ichimaru, raising a hand. "Destructive Art number 54: _Haien_!"

Shuuichi jumped high into the air as a bright yellow ball launched from Ichimaru's fingers and hit the light pole behind him. The pole burst into flame and disintegrated in a matter of seconds.

"_Shibari_—" Shuuichi started, but instead raised his blade to block as Shinsou came shooting up at him. The blade slammed into his and pushed him out of the sky, where he landed on his feet some distance away from Ichimaru.

"Are ya ready, Shuuichi?" asked Ichimaru, raising his blade and pointing it at Shuuichi. Shuuichi had no time to react, whether he liked it or not. "_Bankai_."

(b)

A square opening appeared in the barrier, and the green-haired Mashiro leapt backwards out of the opening armed with two cat claws in her hands. They then glowed green and disappeared, leaving a sealed _zanpakutou_ in her hands. She looked to the side.

"You gonna be okay, Berry-tan? You're number seven…" she asked cutely, and Ichigo responded with a groan, hoisting his large _zanpakutou_ Zangetsu—shaped like a large butcher knife and lacking a hilt or guard—over his shoulder.

Ichigo stepped into the open barrier and it sealed up behind him, blocking the other Vizard from sight. Before him stood Shuuichi. Shuuichi's face was already mostly covered in a Hollow mask, the great maw issuing steam. The black and yellow eyes stared out insanely at the Shingami representative before him. The Hollow influence had also spread farther; his arms and legs were white and bony, and a hole was even opening in his chest. Shuuichi's body looked like it carried some dragon-like qualitites.

Shuuichi was turning completely into a Hollow during his inner battle.

"Alright, Shuuichi…" said Ichigo, and the wrappings around Zangetsu spun away. "It's my turn."

The Hollow Shuuichi growled and let out a roar that sounded too much like a Hollow's roar for Ichigo's comfort, and charged, lashing out with his claws. Shuuichi had abandoned his _zanpakutou_ long ago in preference of his beastly Hollow claws. The sword had become unwieldy as his body became more and more beast-like.

Zangetsu came up to block the claws, and Shuuichi managed to push Ichigo back a great distance, and even he was surprised at how strong Shuuichi had become in this situation. Ichigo slashed forward, cutting Shuuichi across the chest, but that rapidly healed.

Shuuichi jumped forward again and managed to sink a claw into Ichigo's shoulder, and he yelled and jumped backward, holding the wound. He couldn't rest for long though, because Shuuichi was coming back at him, gnashing the teeth of his huge maw.

Ichigo managed to raise Zangetsu and Shuuichi bit down on it. The Hollow teeth scratched against the metal, and a crack appeared. Ichigo grunted in surprise and tried to wrench his blade away, but Shuuichi wouldn't let go. His yellow eyes just bored into Ichigo's skull. As the orange-haired boy watched, the rest of the Hollow dragon-like mask slowly formed over Shuuichi's face.

Another crack appeared in Zangetsu, and Ichigo finally managed to spring away, panting heavily. He had only been in for a couple minutes… Could he last the entire ten minutes?

Shuuichi growled in response, and opened up his huge maw. Dark red energy began to gather around his face, and Ichigo instantly knew he was in deep trouble.

(b)

"Gin Shinsou."

The spinning barbed blades had already almost completely blocked Ichimaru from sight, and Shuuichi stood before him, clutching his blade, sweat rolling down his cheek.

"Let me ask you a question, Shuuichi," said Ichimaru. "What would have happened if ya hadn't stood against me that night?"

Shuuichi panted and raised an eyebrow.

"What would have happened? I could'a gone after Urahara freely, and killed him. I could'a killed Rukia-chan where she stood as well."

Shuuichi thought about it, but stayed focused on Ichimaru's whirling _bankai_ that circled him.

"But she still…"

"_Think_ about it, Shuuichi Ito. You had the desire to protect, didn't ya?"

Shuuichi paused for a moment. He always did have the desire to protect. But didn't he fail? He had failed to protect Rukia… Before that, he had failed to protect Souken… And he failed to protect Kue…

So many times, he had let those close to him die, so many times he had failed to do his duty as a Shinigami. Wasn't that right…?

_As a Shinigami, I have a duty. A duty to protect those who cannot protect themselves._

That's right. Rukia said it that one time, after Kue died… He had a duty to protect the innocent. Hadn't he failed?

_In the end, you can only do what you can do. If you are not strong enough, you can never reach your hopes..._

She said that too… Shuuichi wasn't strong enough to protect them. But no, that wasn't what she meant. She was saying that Shuuichi had limits. He couldn't protect everyone. No matter how strong he was, he could not protect all the innocent he wanted to. But to be happy, to protect at least those that really mattered, he would have to get stronger. Stronger…

Shuuichi's body radiated a sudden blast of spirit force, and that made Ichimaru pause for a moment. Then he chuckled, raising his hilt.

"So… all I have to do is get stronger, right?" said Shuuichi, holding up his sword and looking at it. "I might not be able to protect everyone, but if I get stronger, I can at least protect the ones I need to…"

When he looked into Ichimaru's face, his eyes showed a blue glow. Even Ichimaru's eyes opened a little from their usual slit-like appearance; deep red eyes meeting Shuuichi's blue glow.

Ichimaru swung his hilt forward, and the blades all curled out and reached out for Shuuichi, threatening to tear him apart a second time.

Shuuichi cast away all his fear. The first blade came in toward him, but he quickly jumped forward; in a quick flash step, he was already beyond the next few blades. More came in, a huge tangle of barbs that were intent on strangling the life out of him.

But still, Shuuichi's figure flashed in between the blades like lightning, racing for the Captain. The ones that he had passed had turned around, lashing back for him again. It seemed impossible to survive such a storm of blades but still he came.

Shuuichi appeared right before Ichimaru, and the Captain had only one blade left to hit him with, and it went for Shuuichi's abdomen. Whether the boy flash stepped or not, it was hard to tell, but the blade just appeared to pass right through him without harming him.

Kirunami came in quickly and pierced Ichimaru's heart.

(b)

Anti-Shuuichi stopped just before he reached the hill, and looked back at Shuuichi, whose dying body he had dropped to the ground before walking away. The yellow sky overhead was completely overcast in black clouds now.

"Huh…?"

Shuuichi rose to his knees and stared up at his opposite with a blue glow in his eyes. Blue spirit energy gathered around his midsection and the bleeding stopped.

"No way…" said Anti-Shuuichi, turning around.

"I'm not strong enough to use it outside again, just yet…" groaned Shuuichi, gripping his broken Kirunami. "But this is my inner world… I should have no problems with it here. I'll crush you…"

"What are you talking about…?" sneered the white Shuuichi, then gasped as he finally caught on.

"_Bankai_!"

(b)

The red mass of energy gathered before Shuuichi's Hollow maw, and began to pulsate.

"A _Cero_!" exclaimed Ichigo, and raised his Zangetsu over his head. "No choice… _Getsuga Tenshou_!"

Zangetsu swung downward and let loose a concentrated mass of spirit energy that sliced along the ground, just as Hollow Shuuichi let loose its powerful _Cero_. The two met right between them, and the blast of energy from the collision filled the entire inside of the barrier.

"Oh no!" exclaimed Mashiro, crouching outside the barrier. "Berry-tan's in big trouble!"

"Don't worry about him," grunted Shinji, laying on the ground with is head in his hand.

Ichigo covered his face as the smoke cleared, then looked up into the eyes of Shuuichi, who had completed his transformation into a Hollow.

"It's been well over an hour," he said. "I don't have a choice… It's getting to be that one of us will die…"

Ichigo held up a hand to his face, and little pieces of bone gathered, and materialized into a Hollow mask. It was a very basic mask, with just red lines painted under the eyes and over the forehead.

"Eleven seconds…" said Ichigo, leaping forward with Zangetsu held high. He swung downward, and Shuuichi tried to catch the blade, but ended up losing his hand. However, it quickly regenerated, and he punched out and hit Ichigo directly in the chest.

Ichigo grunted and flew backward, but screamed "_Getsuga Tenshou_!" and launched the wave in midair down toward Shuuichi. The Hollow dodged to the side and jumped out, kicking at the Vizard.

Ichigo blocked the kick with Zangetsu and slashed out, taking out the leg at the knee, but then quickly streaked toward the ground, dodging another kick by the same leg, having almost instantly regenerated.

When he landed, he then leapt to the side as Shuuichi slammed down in that spot, creating a small crater. The Hollow then looked up and quickly charged up another _Cero_, launching it Ichigo's way.

Ichigo took it full on this time, holding out Zangetsu in front of him. He grunted as it strained his body, and when it had finally stopped, he raised Zangetsu above his head.

Ichigo's mask broke apart and dissolved.

"Shit!" he exclaimed, and tensed up as the Hollow leapt for him with its claws, about to deliver the finishing blow.

(b)

Shuuichi tossed the blade into the air, which burst into an enormous blue dragon in midair and streaked toward Anti-Shuuichi…

The white Shuuichi just grinned and held up his own white Kirunami.

"_Bankai_!"

A massive white dragon, identical to Shuuichi's except for color, burst out of the white Shuuichi's hand and smashed into its own opposite in midair.

"Mugoi Kaiyou no Kirumani!" shouted the two Shuuichi's in unison. The two dragons leapt away from each other and circled around the hilltop, flying above the sea. Then they came in and clawed at each other again, each taking out large lumps of flesh as they crossed each other.

"What's with the sudden strength, Shuuichi?" sneered Anti-Shuuichi, no longer appearing so happy.

"I don't need to explain myself to you, Hollow."

The blue Mugoi Kaiyou no Kirunami dodged a bite from the white one, and in turn bit upwards, tearing into its neck. Anti-Shuuichi cringed as his _bankai_ roared out in pain. The two dragons grappled again, ripping gashes in each other, and circling around to smash against each other again.

"I see…" said the white Shuuichi. "I guess you decided to stop being so pathetic, didn't you? You're finally standing up for your sorry self. Do you think you can protect people now?"

In response, the white dragon roared in pain one of its eyes was gouged out by the other dragon's claw. Anti-Shuuichi cringed again, then stepped to the side as his _bankai_ hit the ground right next to him, writhing in pain. The blue dragon set down on the ground by Shuuichi's side.

"I'm starting by defeating you," Shuuichi said calmly. "So I can get stronger, and _no one_ will have to save me."

Anti-Shuuichi growled in anger as the blue dragon charged again, right toward him. The white _bankai_ moved to block with its own body, but in one mighty swipe, Shuuichi's dragon tore it open and tossed it aside. Then its huge fangs chomped down on Anti-Shuuichi, and the momentum of the charge launched the _bankai_'s head out over the cliff.

"Guh…!" Anti-Shuuichi coughed up blood, and his body was hanging out over the sea in the dragon's mouth. "This really sucks… Fine, have it your way. You can have my Hollow powers, but I swear… If I ever get the opportunity, I will crush your soul…"

The dragon opened its mouth, and the Hollow fell. As he did, the white Kirunami _shikai_ rematerialized in his hand; the white dragon on the hill was evaporating at the same time.

"I swear it, Shuuichi!" he called up as he fell, his own body dissolving into nothing as he plummeted down. "I'll come back to crush you some day, as soon as you let your guard down!"

The rest of Anti-Shuuichi's body dissolved, and the white Kirunami splashed into the sea and disappeared.

(b)

Ichigo held his breath, as the Hollow Shuuichi had suddenly stopped charging. Shuuichi's mask cracked.

"This is it!" shouted Shinji, looking over at Hachigen, the pink-haired old man.

"I'm on it!" said Hachi in return, clapping his hands together. Ichigo leapt backwards just as the hole in the barrier opened, and it resealed as he exited.

Hollow Shuuichi let out a loud roar that made the room tremble, and cracks appeared all over his Hollow body. A moment later, the body seemed to explode, filling up the inside of the barrier with a flood of spirit energy and smoke. The barrier trembled under the weight of the blast, and Hachigen had to strain to keep it intact.

All the Vizard watched intently, and as the blast faded, Hachigen let down the barrier. The smoke inside expanded to fill the room. Ichigo stepped forward through the smoke warily, seeking his former opponent.

Shuuichi was standing there, the Hollow body having been blasted off, wearing only the complete dragon Hollow mask. Slowly, Shuuichi raised a hand and slid the mask off his face, blearily looking back into the real world for the first time in over an hour. Then he fell over onto his back, letting the mask finally dissolve.

Ichigo walked up to stand over him. "Yo… You gonna be alright?" He then chuckled to himself, remembering Shinji saying something similar right after Ichigo had attained his own status as a mature Vizard.

Shuuichi let out a long sigh. "I'm… gonna be fine…" Then he said, "Ichigo… I have a question…"

"Huh?"

"Rukia…" Shuuichi sighed, on the verge of passing out. "I need to know… Is Rukia alive?"

Ichigo stared for a moment, then smiled at Shuuichi. "Yeah. She's alive, and just fine."

Shuuichi smiled contently.

"Is she a friend of yours?"

But Shuuichi didn't respond, having slipped into unconsciousness, his body resting for the trials to come.


	7. Sixth Song

Shuuichi panted, skidding back from Shinji as he blocked the last attack, and his Hollow mask finally broke.

"Damn it…" Shuuichi grunted, falling to his knees.

"I'm impressed, Shuuichi," said Shinji, holding his own _zanpakutou_ over his shoulder, though it was still sealed.

"Fifteen minutes and thirty-two seconds," said the silver-haired Kensei, holding a stopwatch.

Shinji chuckled. "And here, Ichigo can still only achieve a maximum of eleven seconds."

Ichigo scoffed, sitting on the ground next to the other Vizard. "I'm still workin' on it!"

"You haven't even increased by half a second, baldie!" commented the blonde girl, Hiyori.

"When will you quit calling me baldie, already?! I'm not bald!"

"And when can I quit telling you, I'm not talking about your head, baldie!!"

Shuuichi stared at the fight, one of several that had broken out between Ichigo and Hiyori while he had stayed there.

"Those two really don't get along, do they?" asked Shuuichi.

"Is Hiyori any different with anyone else?" was Shinji's reply, and in response, one of Hiyori sandals came flying in to smack Shinji's nose. "Gah!"

"You think I can't hear you talking about me over there?!"

Shuuichi sighed, but chuckled. It had been a long time before he could live with a group of people like him. He had lived on his own for so long, it was very refreshing to him. This was his first time really with a group of peers since he had left Soul Society over ten years ago. And he hoped it would never end.

From the Vizards, he had learned about the previous Arrancar attack on Karakura Town, at the same time Arturo appeared. Grimmjow, one of the Espada, had brought five lesser Arrancar with him and attacked anyone with high spirit force. However, at that time, Soul Society had sent many Shinigami to the real world to deal with the threat. Ikkaku and Arisegawa of 11th Squad had come to Karakura Town, along with Captain Hitsugaya and Lieutenant Matsumoto of 10th Squad and Lieutenant Renji Abarai of 6th. Also, Rukia Kuchiki had come…

The five lesser Arrancar had been defeated, not without difficulty, but Ichigo faced the truth of Aizen's new Espada. Grimmjow had utterly defeated Ichigo even when he used _bankai_, and the Arrancar hadn't even drawn his sword. It had been shown, unquestionably, how far superior Aizen's new Espada were to the original Espada.

However, Captain Tousen had appeared to take Grimmjow back to Hueco Mundo, apparently because he had disobeyed Captain Aizen, and Ichigo was saved.

Shuuichi thought about it… On that night, when Shuuichi fought Arturo Plateado, Rukia was alive and well too, fighting only a mile or so away from him…

Shinji was the first one to suddenly stop what he was doing and freeze in place. The other Vizards also shortly started and stared up into the air. Then Shuuichi felt it… A powerful spirit force poured over them, so strong, it could have been covering the entire town.

They were Arrancar.

"They're here!" shouted Ichigo, jumping to his feet, and making a break for the stairway back upstairs. Love and Kensei, quickly grabbed him by his robes to hold him back.

"Let go!" shouted Ichigo, struggling against his bonds.

"I thought I told you it's still impossible!" shouted Kensei, holding fast.

"Your companions came from Soul Socity to handle these situations!" said Love. "Let them deal with it!"

"I'm training for these kinds of situations too!" shouted Ichigo. "There's no point if I don't go!"

Shinji suddenly walked over and grabbed the back of Kensei's shirt, his face serious. Kensei started and looked back at him.

"Let him go."

There was short pause as Kensei and Love looked at Shinji's serious face. Then, they let go, and Ichigo leapt away, darting up the stairs and out of sight, going after the Arrancar's spirit force.

"Hey!" started Kensei. "What's going through your mind?! Shinji!"

Shinji was turned away, staring up into the false sky above them, but did not answer. Kensei just grunted and went to sit with the other Vizard.

Shinji then dropped his gaze to Shuuichi.

"Shuuichi… You understand why you fight now… correct?"

Shuuichi stared. "Yes… I fight to become stronger, so that I may protect the ones close to me."

"The reason Ichigo fights now… I fear he may not understand why he's going to fight those Arrancar."

"What do you mean?"

"The Arrancar that is on its way here… He is the one named 'Grimmjow.'"

Shuuichi started. The powerful Arrancar, that even Ichigo could not lay a finger on? But now that Ichigo had also become a mature Vizard, could he win?

"He's going for pride. He's going to prove that he has become strong enough to overthrow the man who defeated him before."

Shuuichi lowered his gaze, thinking about what Shinji was saying.

"We have eleven seconds." Shinji unsheathed his _zanpakutou_. "Fighting for pride isn't so bad itself, but Ichigo is about to throw away his life. Unless Ichigo can defeat Grimmjow within the eleven second limit, he will die. I will at least give him eleven seconds to fight… I will give him that much. But Shuuichi, come with me."

Shinji then turned and ran up the stairs as well, and Shuuichi hurried after him, clutching his own _zanpakutou_. He could feel the battle had already begun, and that Ichigo had just donned his Hollow mask. They had eleven seconds to reach the battle; although it was only about ten blocks away, Shuuichi wasn't sure if they would make it in time.

Shuuichi made it outside the warehouse and instantly flash stepped to catch up with Shinji, who was bounding away down the street; there were still many blocks to go before reaching the battle. They then turned a corner, and found the battle had come to them.

It had been more than twenty seconds.

Ichigo went rocketing before their eyes, having slid more than six blocks from a single direct hit by the Arrancar. The attacker then came striding out of the dust left by Ichigo's slide.

Shuuichi gasped, thinking for a moment he was watching Arturo, but he then realized his error. They were similar though; Grimmjow had teal hair also, but it was short and spiky, and his Hollow mask remains were a thick bottom half of a jaw, instead of a thin upper half.

Shuuichi and Shinji were still many feet away from the fight, and the Arrancar didn't seem to notice them, which Shuuichi was glad for, but he blinked, and suddenly Grimmjow's sword had gone through Ichigo's arm and into the ground.

Grimmjow raised a hand to point directly at Ichigo, and dark red energy began to gather around it.

"No!" Shuuichi started, and Shinji gripped his sword, but both knew that they would never make it in time.

"Don't worry!!" shouted Grimmjow. "With a _Cero_ at this range, I'll blow off that mask-wearing head of yours!!"

"Dance, Sode no Shirayuki!"

A beam of white spirit power shot out from somewhere above Shuuichi and Shinji, and it hit Grimmjow's arm squarely, encasing it fast in thick ice and halting the _Cero_.

Shuuichi only looked up just in time to see the figure leaping out of the dimensional gate to Soul Society that had opened just above them, the _zanpakutou_ in her hand a beautiful white blade trailing a white ribbon off of the hilt.

Shuuichi's breath caught in his chest, finally looking upon the girl from 13th Squad he had fallen in love with a long time ago, who had rescued him from being marooned in the living world when he first became a spirit, and the girl he had completely screwed up with.

"Second Song, _Hakuren_." Rukia landed to the side of the battle and held up the sword as if to stab Grimmjow, and four ice spikes shot up out of the ground in front of her, broke apart, and the ice shards circled around the _zanpakutou_. Then she stabbed it forward, releasing a massive beam of white energy that completely enveloped the staring Grimmjow.

All that was left was a still Grimmjow completely incased in a crystal of ice at least three feet thick, and which streamed out behind him. Rukia slowly walked over to Ichigo and put a hand on the sword sticking out of his arm.

Shuuichi couldn't move, not knowing what to say or what to do. Beside him, Shinji had disappeared. The two talked quietly, and she carefully began to draw out the blade. Rukia stopped and stared at Ichigo, and there was a tense moment. Shuuichi still couldn't breathe, watching the silent exchange between the two.

The ice crystal cracked open, and Grimmjow's arm came shooting out, his large hand latching onto Rukia's head firmly. Ichigo and Shuuichi both gasped, and Shuuichi felt like he was going to have a heart attack. He quickly unsheathed his _zanpakutou_.

"Bare your fangs, Kirunami!" he cried desperately, running for Rukia as fast as he could.

"_Don't underestimate me, Shinigami!_" growled Grimmjow in a demonic tone, the most menacing look on his face, which put a chill into all their souls. "_Did you think you'd kill me, by freezing the top layer of my skin?! You're too soft!!_"

"_RUKIA!!_" cried Ichigo and Shuuichi helplessly, the former still pinned to the ground by Grimmjow's sword. Grimmjow's _Cero_ charged right between his palm and Rukia's head, and everyone knew that in only a couple seconds, not an atom of Rukia's body would remain.

A different blast came in, a dark purple beam that smashed into Grimmjow's side and made him stagger away from Rukia, the _Cero_ dissipating a second time. Rukia fell backward, and Shuuichi reached the fight just then.

Rukia fell backward into the waiting arms of Shuuichi, knocking him onto his butt. Rukia gasped and looked backward at the young Vizard, and for a time they just stared at each other. Shuuichi didn't know what Rukia was thinking, but was too glad to see those eyes to much care.

"I swear… I really don't like getting involved in Shinigami fights…"

Shinji stood on the rooftop overlooking the fight. "Oh well… It's not like I can just sit back and watch when I'm this close, and you all are just getting knocked around."

"Who are you?" growled Grimmjow. "One of their friends?"

"Why do you assume that?"

"Then who are you?"

"Who cares?"

"No… I'm asking you who you are…" growled Grimmjow, raising a hand. He quickly reached over and plucked his sword right out of Ichigo's arm, leaving him to scream in pain. "Then I guess I gotta kill you!!" He leapt up and slashed forward, completely obliterating the top of the building with a swing of his sword, but Shinji was already on the building across the way, behind Grimmjow.

Grimmjow turned and leapt forward again, but Shinji calmly held a hand up and summoned his Hollow mask in a flash. The Vizard then leapt forward to meet Grimmjow's strike with his own sword. Shinji slashed forward, and the surprised Arrancar had to jump backward. Shinji quickly held up his sword sideways, and dark red energy gathered in front of his fist. "Sorry, Arrancar. You seem pretty strong, so I won't hold back."

The _Cero _went off, but at the same time Grimmjow screamed and held up his own hand, and Shuuichi, Rukia, and Ichigo shielded themselves as the street was washed with the energy of the blast. When they looked up again, Grimmjow had fallen to the ground, panting, and covered with blood.

"So you used your own _Cero_ against mine in order to reduce the damage…" said Shinji. "Not bad."

"Dammit…" grunted Grimmjow, clutching his sword and raising it. Then suddenly, he held it up and shouted, "Grind…!"

They all tensed up.

Ulquiorra grabbed onto the hilt of Grimmjow's sword firmly. No one on the scene had even seen the Arrancar arrive, let alone approach Grimmjow to stop him.

"Ulquiorra!" gasped Grimmjow, his face tense.

"The mission is complete," said Ulquiorra calmly. "We're going back."

A beam of yellow light suddenly shot from the sky and completely enveloped the two Arrancar, sealing them off from the others.

"_Negación_!" remarked Ichigo, referring to the technique used by Menos to rescue each other from danger. The _Negación_ could not be breached by outside forces, the Hollow inside completely isolated in another dimension. In only a few moments, Grimmjow and Ulquiorra rose into the sky, a massive _garganta_ open and waiting for them up above.

Ulquiorra stared down at Ichigo as he ascended, his face blank and unreadable. Then he turned away, and the sky closed around him. Ichigo was already hunched over though, his eyes half-closed. Finally, the representative Shinigami fell to the side, unconscious.

"Ugh…" sighed Shinji, dropping down next to Ichigo and hoisting him up. "What a rough day… I'll take him home."

Then he bounded off, and Shuuichi was left there, sitting down and still holding onto Rukia. Shuuichi stared after Shinji for a minute, until finally Rukia moved, and Shuuichi let go of her body.

Rukia stood up and looked down at Shuuichi. "Shuuichi…"

"Rukia…"

After a short moment, Rukia smiled uncertainly. "Urahara told me you were okay. I'm glad I got to see for my own eyes, finally."

Shuuichi found his heart racing again, and he knew his feelings for Rukia hadn't faded in the least, even after several decades. But then as he thought that, he remembered again how Rukia and Ichigo had looked at each other back then, when she had reappeared.

Shuuichi knew they were friends… Rukia had given Ichigo her Shinigami powers when she was incapacitated by a Hollow, which led to Urahara giving her the _gigai_ containing Hougyoku for her to recover. This led to Ichigo in turn rescuing Rukia from execution later, even though Aizen appeared anyway to take the Hougyoku from within her, leaving her body undamaged.

"You saved his life," said Shuuichi. "At the risk of your own."

Rukia looked curiously at Shuuichi, then shrugged nonchalantly. "It's the duty of the Shinigami."


	8. Seventh Song

"Shuuichi!"

Shuuichi turned around, and even though it was nighttime, he again wore his dark sunglasses with his black jacket. Rukia stood off to the side, nervously fiddling with her sheathed _zanpakutou_.

"Shuuichi, are you sure about this?"

"Yes, I am," said Shuuichi. "This is something I have to do. And I know tonight's the night."

"Ichigo went after Grimmjow for the same reason as you are here now."

"I know. But I still want to do this, even though Ichigo almost got killed. Please just trust me."

Rukia went silent, and Shuuichi just stared out over the night sky, standing on the rooftop of an empty warehouse. There was a chill breeze tonight, but neither of them really cared. Shuuichi stood for a long time, perhaps an hour. Shuuichi had not asked Rukia to come this night, but upon seeing the vicious attacks Ichigo had received, she was afraid that this could be Shuuichi's last night.

Shuuichi put his hand on his _zanpakutou_ and drew it, tossing away the sheath. Rukia tensed up, backing up a little bit. It must be coming now…

Directly in front of and above Shuuichi, a _garganta_ unzipped in the air, and Arturo came striding out. His arm and hand had been restored, and was fully healthy, though Shuuichi showed no dismay at the fact.

"So, you came, Shuuichi Ito," he said, grinning. "I was afraid you would have run away from me with your tail between your legs." He looked over at Rukia. "What, you need someone to baby-sit you again?"

"She is only here to watch," said Shuuichi calmly. "Arturo Plateado, your fight is with me. And besides… I believe it was you who had to run away from the fight last time."

Arturo growled, and drew his sword. Shuuichi held his sword up and smirked, holding up one hand to the base of the blade.

"Bare your fangs, Kirunami." He slid his hand down the blade, and it unzipped into the twin blades of his _shikai_. "I will destroy you."

Arturo streaked down from the sky, and Shuuichi held up his sword quickly to block. As he expected, the impact made his sword ring, and his arm shook badly from just the first strike.

"Second Song… _Suuiki o Wakareru_!" Shuuichi's sword glowed bright blue, and he swung his sword vertically, letting off the attack at point blank range. Arturo got hit with it directly, and was pushed backward, but it only ripped open his jacket, and didn't even leave a bruise.

Shuuichi flash stepped and reappeared directly behind Arturo, slashing for the Arrancar's spine, but the man quickly reached his arm back and blocked the strike with his bare hand. Arturo then stabbed at Shuuichi with his _zanpakutou_, but Shuuichi flash stepped again and reappeared just to the side of the blade.

Shuuichi slashed a second time, but Arturo blocked it with his forearm, and delivered a kick right to Shuuichi's chest, sending him spinning away.

In midspin, he shouted, "First Song, _Shibarikomu Kawa_!" The water ropes came lashing, but the Arrancar batted them away, and went flying between them for the Vizard.

"Destructive Art number 4, _Byakurai_!" Arturo gasped, and was hit dead center with a lightning bolt, and his charge was stopped. Shuuichi appeared directly behind Arturo this time, pointing a finger at his back.

"Binding Art number 99, _Kin_!" Arturo's arms snapped together behind his back, and two large metal gauntlets appeared around them, bonded together by bolts. Shuuichi took that opportunity to flash step back around to Arturo's front and rush forward with Kirunami.

The Arrancar easily flexed his arm and broke apart the gauntlets, and his sword came flying around and narrowly missed driving into Shuuichi's shoulder. The Vizard did a roll in midair and went for Arturo's abdomen.

Arturo performed a _Sonido_, the Arrancar version of the flash step, and appeared behind Shuuichi this time. The Vizard gasped and turned to block, but the impact from the strike pushed him down onto the rooftop. When he landed, Arturo came down after him and kicked at him. Despite Shuuichi's attempt to block, he was blasted backward and he tumbled away.

Shuuichi managed to roll to his feet, but he already found Arturo right in front of him. The Arrancar drove forward with his _zanpakutou_, driving right into Shuuichi's shoulder. Shuuichi screamed in pain, but slashed forward with Kirunami. Arturo had to _Sonido_ backward to avoid the cut.

"Shuuichi!" cried Rukia, as the Vizard fell to his knees panting. Arturo just laughed.

"Damn you…" sighed Shuuichi, gasping for breath. "Well, I hoped I could go on for at least a little bit longer… I guess there's no helping it."

Arturo raised an eyebrow as Shuuichi held up a hand to his face, then took a step backward. In a bright blue flash, the dragon Hollow mask formed over his face.

"Now then…" said Shuuichi in his double voice. "Shall we dance?"

_Eighteen minutes and twenty-five seconds_, thought Shuuichi. _That's my maximum so far… I have to beat him before then._

"_Suuiki o Wakareru_!" cried Shuuichi, and the wave he launched was black instead of blue. Arturo gasped and dodged to the side of the vicious wave, but as he did, he found the Vizard waiting for him, slashing forward with the deadly blade.

Arturo managed to block, but as Shuuichi could tell, the strike was much more difficult to fend off this time. Arturo slashed back, but Shuuichi disappeared and reappeared behind the Arrancar.

"_Shibarikomu Kawa_!" The ropes were too fast for Arturo this time, and he was snared by them, and Shuuichi came in fast. Arturo struggled with them until Shuuichi reached him, but he finally broke them in time. As he dodged though, Kirunami cut through his iron skin, and blood was finally on Kirunami.

"Damn you!" cried Arturo, kicking out wildly, and Shuuichi leapt backward. "I've seen you fire off quite a few of those attacks… You have to be reaching your limit, though."

Shuuichi just stared, breathing steam out of the mouth of his Hollow mask. Arturo growled and punched forward, firing off a _Bala_, which traveled at the speed of a bullet. Shuuichi couldn't react, and was hit by it directly, and as he flew backward, Arturo appeared behind him and kicked him hard in the back.

Shuuichi spun away again, but then launched off another black _Suuiki o Wakareru_, and Arturo had to dodge. The Arrancar angrily launched off after Shuuichi, brandishing his _zanpakutou_.

Shuuichi blocked all of Arturo's attacks, which infuriated Arturo, and the Arrancar's attacks were becoming sloppier. Shuuichi felt like he had this one in the bag. Arturo stabbed forward with his sword, and Shuuichi flash stepped out of the way, reappearing on the rooftop.

Arturo stared down at him, then raised a hand, beginning to charge a _Cero_. "You are going to end right now!"

Rukia sucked in her breath, but Shuuichi just stared. He had seen many _Ceros_ fired off up to this point, and he could see how Arturo's muscles worked up to the point when the attack was fired off…

Arturo fired the blast, and it connected right where Shuuichi was standing, completely obliterating everything at least 30 feet around that point and showering the area with rock and dust. The Arrancar cackled sadistically, reveling in the kill.

"Destructive Art number 63…"

Arturo gasped and turned to see Shuuichi standing in midair right behind him, but he had dropped his guard; it was far too late.

"…_Raikouhou_!" Shuuichi let loose a yellow shockwave that spread out from his palm and slammed into Arturo with full force. The Arrancar screamed in pain and rocked backward, lines of blood appearing all over his body. Satisfied, the Vizard lowered himself to the rooftop.

"Fuck!" screamed the Arrancar in pain, panting hard, his expression one of utter fury. "Damn you, Shuuichi! You're going to pay for that!"

Arturo raised his sword and held it up with the blade pointing downward. It began to glow in a blue light, and Shuuichi and Rukia stiffened up.

"Fly, Fenice!"

The sword in his hand burst into a cloud of blue smoke, which then congealed and swirled around Arturo like a tornado, hiding him from sight.

Shuuichi held his breath. Since Arrancar had gained a _zanpakutou_, he had come to the conclusion that they indeed were able to release it, but he had prayed that that would never happen. He had become even more nervous when Grimmjow had been on the verge of releasing his own sword before Ulquiorra stopped him, but now the Vizard was about to see the full glory of an Arrancar releasing his _zanpakutou_.

The smoke instantly vanished, revealing Fenice. Arturo held no weapon at all. In fact, everything about him seemed exactly the same, except for the two large wings extending from his back. These wings were not made of feathers, but of pure raw spirit power. They were a bright blue and looked to be just pure condensed energy.

"Surprised, young Vizard?" cackled Arturo, crossing his arms. "This is an Arrancar release! It works differently than with you Shinigami. When a Hollow gains a _zanpakutou_, the sword is made up of that Hollow's sealed essence. In other words, when an Arrancar releases his sword, he becomes his true form!"

Shuuichi rocked backwards, eyes locked on the energy wings.

"Dance, Sode no Shirayuki!" Shuuichi looked over in time to see Rukia's _zanpakutou_ become pure white and sprout the white ribbon. The Shinigami braced herself and started forward, but Shuuichi held up his hand to stop her.

"Shuuichi!" started Rukia. "You need me to—"

"Do you remember what Captain Ukitake and Lieutenant Kaien always used to say?" said Shuuichi, his voice calm despite it being distorted through the Hollow mask.

This gave Rukia pause; she stopped in her tracks.

"There are two kinds of fights. One to protect life, and one to protect honor. You must always know the difference between them. You know which one this is, Rukia, and it is no bad thing. You must not interfere now."

Rukia sighed and stepped backward. "Right… Shuuichi… Don't die."

"Hahahahaha!" laughed Arturo, energy condensing around his hands to form two blade-like shapes made of spirit power. "Too bad, Shuuichi. You should have let her help. Then perhaps you'd live after all!"

Arturo vanished, and Shuuichi raised Kirunami to the side in time to block a strike from one of the energy blades. Shuuichi felt it connect, but when he focused his vision, he found that Arturo simply wasn't there. By instinct, he shifted his blade to the other side to block, and felt his block connect again. Yet, Arturo was gone again.

Shuuichi realized what was going on now, madly maneuvering his _zanpakutou_ in all directions and feeling each and every block connect. Arturo was on a string of _Sonidos_, and attacking on each one. Although, Shuuichi was pressing his limits of speed, he began to slip, and each block was more and more late.

Finally, Shuuichi tried to block to one side, but was a little too late, the energy blade of Fenice cutting right into Shuuichi's left side. Then another strike came in from behind, cutting deep into his back. The pain from that strike had hardly arrived when his arm was torn by a third strike.

Shuuichi flash stepped a far distance from the spot, and Arturo finally came out of his attacks, grinning at Shuuichi.

"Am I too fast for you now, Shuuichi Ito?" He disappeared again, but now Shuuichi was a little more ready, and he focused all of his attention on the first strike coming his way. This time, he saw the energy blade connecting with Kirunami, just before it disappeared again. But if Shuuichi focused hard enough, he saw the blade traveling to another spot, and it became easier to block.

Arturo was getting frustrated again, each and every strike foiled even with his _zanpakutou_ released. He was getting tired, but he could tell Shuuichi was getting tired as well in blocking each and every attack by Fenice.

At last, he came out of the long string of attacks and punched his fist directly at Shuuichi, but even as he was releasing the attack, he could see the Vizard turn and stare directly at him through the holes in his Hollow mask.

Shuuichi dodged the _Bala_. Arturo gasped as even his trained eyes simply lost sight of Shuuichi, and not even a split second later, a giant gash opened in his stomach.

Shuuichi sailed past the Arrancar and landed back on the rooftop. He didn't pause for a moment, though, before turning and raising his fingers at Arturo, and dark red energy gathered around them.

The Arrancar turned around, slowly, and faced headlong into a _Cero_ fired by the young Vizard, and his body was wracked with pain, blood shooting out of the many wounds criss-crossing his body. Arturo screamed in agony, and hovered in the air as the _Cero_ faded, his gaze dropped down as if he was about to fall unconscious.

Shuuichi fell to his knees, exhausted from the attack he had fired. He hoped that now the Arrancar was defeated, that he would drop out of the sky.

Instead, Arturo raised his head and cackled even louder, and his wings shot out to twice their original size, and many colors flooded into them. Arturo threw out both his hands, and a large ball of red and black energy formed between them. Shuuichi watched in awe, knowing this was going to be bad. He reached down deep inside himself, to the core of his power. He would have to put in every last inch of his power…

"_Cero Grande!_" cried Arturo, and a colossal beam of red and black energy streamed from between his arms. Rukia cried out and flash stepped away, reappearing far away from the attack.

Shuuichi held up Kirunami and pumped all his spirit power into it, and when the attack hit, it felt like every nerve in his body was lit on fire, the pain was so bad. The attack parted around him, but the strain was so severe, he felt like he would disintegrate on the spot.

_Hey…_ Shuuichi called into the core of his soul. _I need your help now._

_I figured…_ a voice called back. _I suppose I have to now, don't I?_

Beneath him, the rooftop crumbled, and the warehouse they stood on was blasted away. Shuuichi couldn't use enough spirit power to keep himself anchored in midair, so he was hurled to the ground. He planted his feet as he hit, and the beam continued to press on him.

Finally, the _Cero Grande_ diminished and let up, and Shuuichi fell back to his knees, almost all his energy wasted. Several other warehouses around them had been evaporated as well. The Vizard was breathing in rasps, his vision was blurring, but when he looked up, he saw that Arturo had become tired from that attack as well. The Arrancar's chest was heaving.

"Shuuichi…" cackled Arturo, belying his own exhaustion. His wings returned to their small and blue state. "It's over now…"

_Shuuichi…_ called the inner voice inside the Vizard. _Since you defeated me, I'll give you one last little trick. Don't screw it up!_

Shuuichi managed a small smile, and Arturo raised an eyebrow. More energy flowed into Shuuichi's limbs, just enough for him to struggle to his feet… And enough to fire off his last attack.

"Third Song…"

Arturo gasped and raised his hands defensively, caught by surprise.

"… _Kouri no Mai_!"

Shuuichi jabbed Kirunami in Arturo's direction, and the blade burst apart into a couple dozen tiny little crystals of ice, which streaked out and formed a large spherical arrangement around Arturo. Each individual crystal then glowed and gathered moisture from the air, growing into a large spike of ice.

"N-No!" cried Arturo, a moment before all the spikes closed in around him, each one ramming into his body. He screamed in agony, and blood burst out of his body. The crystals shattered, and the Arrancar, defeated, fell to the ground and collapsed.

Shuuichi's mask shattered, and the Vizard fell to his hands and knees, spent. His vision became blurry, and his strength faded away. At last, he was able to defeat him… Arturo was finally beaten down…

He raised his head and saw Arturo propping himself up on his _zanpakutou_, which had resealed. His blood was pouring onto the ground, and he was becoming pale. It was obvious that he would be dead in a matter of minutes.

"Sh-Shit…" Arturo grunted, shakily raising a hand, and a _Cero_ began to charge, though ever-so-slowly. Still, Shuuichi could do nothing to stop it.

"First Song, _Tsukishirou_."

A white circle appeared on the ground surrounding Arturo, and he had only the time to widen his eyes in surprise before ice reached up from the ground and encased him, and continuing up into the sky to form a pillar of ice. A moment later, the pillar shattered, and Arturo was no more.

Rukia waved Sode no Shirayuki to seal it again, and placed it back in her sheath. She turned to look down at the weak Shuuichi on the ground.

"You were the one that defeated Arturo. His life was draining away, and you were alive, and I saw your honor fulfilled in your eyes. I only stepped in… because it was then a fight for life."

Shuuichi looked blearily up into Rukia's eyes, and she smiled at him. Then his body relaxed as he once again slipped into unconsciousness, truly happy.

(b)

"Kurosaki-kun… You know… There were so many things I wanted to do…"

A young girl with orange hair leaned against the window next to Ichigo's bed. She wore a thick metal bracelet, one that had the unique trait of letting her pass through solid objects. It also made her invisible to everyone… everyone other than the Arrancar. Ichigo was fast asleep, unaware of her presence.

"I wanted to be a teacher… and become an astronaut… and open up a cake shop…" said Orihime Inoue, her voice shaky. "I want to go to Mr. Donuts and yell, 'Please give me all that you have!' Then I would go to Baskin & Robins and yell, 'Please give me all the flavors you have!' Aah… If only I could have five lives! Then I can live in five different towns, eat different food five times each meal until I'm full, have five different jobs…"

She paused for a moment, and looked down at Ichigo, tears forming in her eyes. "And five times… fall in love with the same person. Thank you… Kurosaki-kun. Goodbye."

She turned and stepped forward, sliding through the curtains, and through the window. She was gone, then, away from the world of the living. That night, Orihime Inoue disappeared from the lives of her friends.


	9. Eighth Song

Standing in a room in Orihime's house was Ichigo, Rukia, Ikkaku, Arisegawa, and a red-headed Shinigami. The redhead was facing a screen, which showed a hunched-over old man, the Captain Commander of Soul Society, Yamamoto.

"Without further delays, I, Renji Abarai, Lieutenant of the 6th Squad, also a member of Captain Hitsugaya's reinforcement squad, in order to persuade traitor Orihime Inoue, am heading towards Hueco Mundo!"

"Renji…!" said Ichigo.

"Unacceptable," said Yamamoto. "Having determined that the Arrancar forces are already prepared for battle, I will have Hitsugaya's forces return and focus on the protection of Soul Society."

"Does that mean…" started Rukia tentatively, "you're telling us to forget about Inoue?"

"Naturally, it means that you cannot weigh the life of one person against the fate of the world."

"I'm sorry, but, I cannot obey that order."

"As I suspected. Then it is good that I made preparations for such an occurrence."

Behind them, a _senkaimon_ appeared and slid open. Out of it stepped a tall muscled man with spiky hair, and a sleek-looking man with long black hair. Both were Captains.

"That's how it's gonna be," said the muscled man, Kenpachi Zaraki of 11th Squad. "Go back, you guys."

"Do not resist," said the sleek man, Byakuya Kuchiki of 6th Squad, and Rukia's older brother. "Even if force is needed, we have orders to bring you back."

"Fine…" said Ichigo darkly, looking up at Yamamoto. "I'm not going to ask Soul Society to help. So at least… tell me how to get to Hueco Mundo. Inoue is my friend. I'm gonna save her by myself."

Yamamoto stared. "Unacceptable."

"What… did you say…?"

"You're power is needed in this battle. I will not allow selfish acts, nor will I permit you to die like a dog. Wait until you have orders… That is all."

"Ichigo," gasped Rukia, but Renji was pulling her into the portal to Soul Society. She struggled for a minute, but finally gave up, and disappeared into the portal. Before the gate closed she said, "… I'm sorry."

Ichigo was left standing in the room, staring at the ground, a shadow hanging over his face.

(b)

Shuuichi practically burst in the warehouse door, causing many of the Vizards to jump where they sat.

"Geeeeeez!" exclaimed Shinji, looking up. "What's with all the rack—…" He stopped, seeing the dark look on Shuuichi's face.

"Where's Ichigo?"

Shinji paused for a moment, and all the Vizards exchanged glances.

"He's not here anymore. I can't feel his spirit power. And there were many other strong forces all across the town, and they aren't here anymore!"

Shinji yawned. "How should I know? Ichigo hasn't been here since his fight. But it's not really Ichigo you're looking for is it? Maybe someone who is often in the same place he is?"

Shuuichi sighed. "Rukia Kuchiki."

Shinji grinned, but that grin quickly faded. "I don't know where she is either, but I know… Her spirit force is gone. Logically, she must have gone back to Soul Society."

Shuuichi nodded, then turned and raised his _zanpakutou_, stabbing it into the air beside him. It vanished into the folds of face, and as Shuuichi turned the hilt, a wooden gate appeared before him.

All the Vizards jumped up. "Hey, what the hell are you doing?!" shouted Hiyori. "Don't open a _senkaimon_ right in our base!"

"Something's gone horribly wrong," said Shuuichi, giving them pause. "I can feel it… And I can see it in your face, Shinji Hirako. What's going on? Are the Arrancar going to attack?"

Shinji just stared darkly at him. "I can't tell you, Shuuichi. But you seem pretty set on protecting this Rukia girl. Set enough to go back to Soul Society after over a decade."

Shuuichi sighed and looked at the wooden gate, which slid open before him. A black butterfly floated out of it and hovered around him. He could sense confusion coming from the hell butterfly, but it seemed to acknowledge him as a Shinigami and allow him access.

"Shuuichi… You may be a mature Vizard now, but you are far from reaching your goal."

Shuuichi looked at him. "What do you mean?"

"You have many questions in your heart, and you think you've answered them, but I don't think you really have. Don't do anything foolish."

Shuuichi stared at him for a moment, unsure of just what the Vizard meant. Then, without waiting much longer, he stepped forward into the gate before him. For a short time, he was just wreathed in light, an experience he still hadn't forgotten from his days among the 13 Court Guardian Squads.

In there, he felt a sudden strain on his body, like it was going to melt away. It was then, he realized, he was still in his_ gigai_ that he had gotten from Urahara a long time ago. He didn't need to worry about it much longer, for his spirit was suddenly separated from that body, and he turned to see himself in the black jacket falling back behind him. Then, there was a white flash.

He stood in the streets of Soul Society, donned in his Shinigami robes once again. The hell butterfly fluttered away.

He looked around, but the Shinigami traveling around weren't paying him much heed. To them, he was just another Shinigami returning from a mission. He awkwardly turned and headed off in the direction of 13th Squad, where Rukia must be.

The air here was tense; he hardly saw anyone with a cheerful look. People were also moving in organized groups, going about different tasks. The whole atmosphere made Shuuichi feel uneasy. He had never seen Soul Society like this, even when a Menos had appeared in the wooded areas outside Soul Society back when he had just been inducted into 12th Squad.

As he walked though, he noticed he was gathering a bit more attention. People began to glance at him, and whisper to each other. Shuuichi realized… He wasn't a Shinigami anymore; he was a Vizard. His odd spirit power was attracting unwanted attention. He had to go and find Rukia and find out what was happening before…

"Shuuichi Ito."

A man with a deep voice and extraordinary spirit power had suddenly appeared right behind him. Before him, Shuuichi saw the Shinigami back away and bow their heads respectfully to the figure behind him. Shuuichi slowly turned.

Byakuya Kuchiki, Captain of 6th Squad, stood there, staring down his nose at Shuuichi.

"Shuuichi Ito," Byakuya said again. "Former Shinigami of 12th Squad under Mayuri Kurotsuchi. You left your squad over ten years ago. You are not welcome in Soul Society."

Shuuichi opened his mouth to speak, but the words didn't come easily. "I'm looking for… I'm looking for… Rukia."

Byakuya narrowed his eyes. "Rukia is not here. Please leave, Shuuichi Ito." Byakuya turned away, but Shuuichi called out to him.

"W-Wait, Captain Kuchiki! Where did she go? What's going on here?"

There was an intake of breath from the surrounding Shinigami, and Kuchiki slowly turned back toward Shuuichi. At first, the Vizard leaned away, fearing an attack, but instead, he spoke.

"Orihime Inoue of Karakura Town has gone to Hueco Mundo with the Arrancar. The Arrancar are also amassing, preparing to attack, so all Shinigami in the living world have been regrouped in Soul Society."

Inoue… Wasn't that one of Ichigo's friends? She was kidnapped by the Arrancar?

"My orders were only to bring Rukia back to Soul Society, and only to that point. She has left now. She has followed Ichigo Kurosaki and his friends to Hueco Mundo."

The news hit Shuuichi worse than if ten Captains had just hit him with ten _bankais_. Rukia… went to Hueco Mundo after Inoue… He had never heard of something so foolish. Walking right into the Arrancar's base…

"Go now, Shuuichi," said Byakuya, turning away again. "Before too many others notice your presence here."

As Shuuichi turned to go, there was one Shinigami in the crowd that was more surprised than all of the others upon witnessing the conversation. It was a woman with long brown hair, and she recognized the Vizard immediately, even though she hadn't seen him for decades… Not since she had been alive.

"Shuuichi…" breathed the former lover of Shuuichi Ito.

(b)

Shuuichi wandered the streets of Karakura, staring at his feet.

Rukia had gone to Hueco Mundo. That was nothing short of suicide, striding right into the waiting hands of the Arrancar, to rescue Inoue. This girl that had disappeared had been labeled as a traitor by Soul Society, because evidence pointed that she had left of her own will. Thus, Soul Society had abandoned her to focus on its own protection.

Apparently, Ichigo had not been satisfied with that, and had gone to Hueco Mundo on his own, without the help of Soul Society. Then, Rukia and Renji Abarai had followed shortly after. That was already many days ago.

They were all going to die.

_No!_ Shuuichi put a hand on his face, frustrated. There was no way he could let Rukia die. He had gone through so much to protect her… He couldn't protect her from Aizen the first time, so he couldn't let her down this time.

Then they could escape… Ichigo, at the peak of his strength, was defeated by the Arrancar ranked number 6. How could he hope to overcome all of Hueco Mundo? Perhaps Shuuichi could persuade them to leave. Shuuichi didn't know what Aizen wanted with Inoue, but there was nothing they could do about it.

It would have all been easier if Ichigo just hadn't gone to Hueco Mundo in the first place… But wait… How _did_ Ichigo go to Hueco Mundo? Only Hollows could travel back and forth to that world, and even Vizards couldn't open _garganta_ with the Hollows inside them… There had to be away.

"Aha, Shuuichi, we meet once again!"

Shuuichi finally looked up. He had wandered for a long time, and had unconsciously wound up standing in front of Urahara Shop.

"This would be the fourth time since you came to the living world," said Urahara. "Once to know about the Hougyoku, second for the _gigai_, and third for answers about the Vizard. This time, you are seeking a road to Hueco Mundo as well, yes?"

Shuuichi—once again—shouldn't have been surprised.

(b)

"Orihime Inoue possesses the power to reverse. Whether it is an injury, or damage to an object, she can turn it around. It is a god-like power. It is very dangerous that Aizen takes an interest in her."

Shuuichi stood in the massive underground room that lay under Urahara Shop for the second time. The first time, he had been fighting for his life against Kirunami himself, in order to attain _bankai_.

Before him, two large crags of rock rose up out of the ground, and in each was stuck a large black beam.

Urahara led Shuuichi toward the beams, then quickly turned toward him.

"This is the only time I'm going to ask you, Shuuichi Ito. Are you sure this is something you want to do?"

Shuuichi stared at his former Captain for a moment. "Yes. I've trained for this… I've trained in order to be strong enough to protect the ones I love. I had failed so much up to this point, but I finally feel ready to face what I need to."

Urahara stared for a moment, then lifted his cane. "Alright, then. Don't do anything too reckless, Shuuichi. But I place my trust in you, as I placed my trust in Ichigo."

He lifted the end of the cane and stabbed Shuuichi in the head with it. As it went through the _gigai_, Shuuichi's spirit was ejected out the back, pushed out by the crest on the end of the cane. The _gigai_ fell to the earth.

As Shuuichi straightened his Shinigami robes, Urahara leapt into the air, alighting on one of the black beams on the crags. He lifted his cane and set it to the beam underneath him.

"_In my right hand, the stone that connects the worlds. In my left hand, the blade that bonds existence. The owner of the black sheep, the stool of the noose. The mass of clouds close in, I strike at the ibis."_

The beam became surrounded in black energy, which then reached out and connected to the second beam. The energy rushed in between them, and then widened. As it did, the space within it tore open, and a large oval _garganta_ opened right in front of Shuuichi.

"I don't need to tell you to be careful," said Urahara. "And above all, make sure… that you come back."

Shuuichi nodded. "I will… with Rukia."

Urahara's face at the moment seemed strange. It seemed almost… sad… or disapproving. Like Urahara knew something at that moment that Shuuichi did not. But that did not bother the Vizard too much at that moment.

Without further ado, Shuuichi bent down to his knees and leapt forward, straight into the _garganta_, disappearing from the living world. After another moment, the portal closed and vanished.

Urahara stared at that spot for a moment.

"Shuuichi… Above all, you have to watch out for yourself. _No matter what… Come back._"

(b)

Rukia shielded her eyes, looking up at the sunny sky above her. Before her, a massive white tower stood. "This is… What is this…? A blue sky? Why is there a sky after passing through a wall?"

"Shall I tell you why?" came a voice from directly behind her. She gasped and turned, but the figure had already moved. She slowly turned back around, to see the figure standing in front of the doors to the tower. He wore white frilly robes, and a tall and plain Hollow mask over his face. It didn't even have any features apart from the small holes running up it.

"Follow me." He then stepped inside. Rukia stared for a moment… The voice from beneath the mask… sounded so familiar.

"Wait!!" cried Rukia, dashing after him. She stepped in the door, and her eyes had to adjust again; inside it was very dark.

As Rukia entered the dark room, the tall double doors swung shut behind her. The man inside turned to face her.

"My apologies," said the man. "For a very long time, I haven't been very good with that whole light of the sun thing. The sun doesn't reach inside this palace. I'll just remove my mask and introduce myself." He placed a hand on the bottom of his mask. "I'm Aaroniero. Noveno Espada, Aaroniero Arlieri."

He removed his mask to reveal the face of the Lieutenant of 13th division. The face of Kaien Shiba.


	10. Ninth Song

"Anyway… That was how I regained my body," said Kaien, sitting back on his cushion. Rukia sat across from him, still looking warily at her apparently revived Lieutenant before him. "And then, I replaced an Espada, so that I could find a chance to strike at Aizen."

Rukia sighed looking down at the ground. Her heart was racing again. Back then, when she had been fighting together with Kaien, and now when she was facing him again. Her feelings still hadn't changed…

"Outside… There's a blue sky, right? Aizen made that blue sky inside the dome of Las Noches. Everything that the sky's light shines on is under Aizen's surveillance."

"Wha…" started Rukia, leaning forward.

"I'm glad that it was you, Kuchiki, who came to me," said Kaien, standing and turning away. "You're probably the only one who can carry out the plan I'm gonna tell you now. Come here, Kuchiki. We're gonna change places."

"Yes!" said Rukia, standing and running toward him. He had hardly reached him though, when she saw the flash of steel. The tip of a katana was coming right for her face. She managed to roll out of the way just in time, avoiding death but receiving a nasty slash across her cheek. She rolled back to her feet and stared in horror at what she had thought was Kaien Shiba.

"So…" said the man, grinning evilly. "You've become stronger, huh…" He suddenly spoke with two sinister voices in unison. "…_Kuchiki_?"

(b)

Shuuichi finally crested what seemed like the thousandth sand dune, to see that he was indeed behind the team that had come to rescue Orihime Inoue. His way into Las Noches was clear from where he stood.

Shuuichi thought his first step into Hueco Mundo would be a monumental journey, but instead he had emerged onto a barren, desert landscape. It was always nighttime, and all he could see was sand and dead trees. And it wasn't even glittering golden sand; this sand was grey and as dead as the plant life here.

Almost as soon as he had emerged, though, he saw the stronghold of Sousuke Aizen. Las Noches was enormous, the size of the one building perhaps as big as all of Soul Society put together. It didn't look too impressive though; it was square and white, with a few domes and turrets sticking out of it.

Shuuichi had run full out toward Las Noches, but soon became tired as he saw just how big the building was. Judging distance and size was difficult here, because there was no other landscape to judge the size of the building on. For the first ten minutes, he felt like he might as well be trying to run to the moon. After an hour or two, though, the wall of Las Noches finally loomed up to him.

Cresting the final sand dune into the valley before the wall, he saw a gaping hole in the wall leading to Las Noches, though it seemed to be relatively old. The rescue group must have gone in a long time ago.

Shuuichi began to run down the sand dune, but he quickly looked around to see some minor Hollows coming in from many directions to block him.

"Bare your fangs," Shuuichi said, grinning, "Kirunami."

He snapped his _zanpakutou_ out, and leapt forward, killing four Hollows before even landing. He leapt forward again, stabbing a Hollow in the stomach and using it as a launchpad toward the next Hollow, taking that one down too. Five more dead Hollows later, Shuuichi landed in front of the hole into Las Noches.

He darted inside quickly, then turned to attack any that flew in after him. But Shuuichi lowered his blade instead. None of the Hollows followed him.

The Hollows seemed to look at each other, and Shuuichi got the feeling that "I'm not goin' in there," was the general consensus among their group. The Hollows turned and went on their way.

Shuuichi sighed and turned back into the halls. Inside, it seemed very bland as well. The halls were quite square, with only plain support beams and arches lining them. At first, Shuuichi scoffed, but then his face grew darker. If all the halls looked the same, it would be nearly impossible to navigate in this monolith of a fortress.

Shuuichi scanned as wide as he could for spirit force. Mostly, he just picked up some signs of minor Arrancar that were flitting around, but hardly anything worthwhile. Then, he started, for he suddenly picked up a distant sign of what seemed to be Ichigo.

Or maybe not… Shuuichi had just begun to focus on it when the spirit force suddenly faded. Instead, he felt a different spirit force in the same place, that of a powerful Arrancar. It felt familiar; it reminded him of the Arrancar who had come to retrieve Grimmjow before…

The spirit force moved away from Shuuichi and out of his reach. The Vizard shrugged to himself, then began to run down the hallways.

Seconds turned into minutes as Shuuichi just ran as fast as he could, flash stepping as much as he could without becoming too fatigued. Amazingly, he encountered nothing to block his way; it unnerved him, considering he had just entered the stronghold of the traitor Aizen.

(b)

Aaroniero laughed as he held Rukia up in the air on the end of the trident in his hand. The middle blade of the trident was sticking out of her back through her stomach, and the entire pole was soaked in her blood. The _zanpakutou_ in her limp hand was broken.

But suddenly, Rukia's other hand shuddered, then grabbed onto the pole of the weapon impaling her.

"You're still conscious?" sneered Aaroniero, still wearing the face of Kaien. "Amazing… But pointless. Even if you survived, the fact remains that you can't kill me, much less strike me down."

"I've… remembered…" groaned Rukia, holding up the broken Sode no Shirayuki and pointing it at Aaroniero's face, the broken end hovering just in front of his eye.

"What? You're going to keep fighting with a broken sword? How irritating. Drop it."

"Third… Song…" gasped Rukia. Aaroniero gasped, but that was all he could do. "_Shirafune_."

Behind his head, the tip of Sode no Shirayuki reappeared, made of ice. The blade reformed backwards, until it rejoined at the broken metal edge. The sword was complete, and was right through Aaroniero's head.

"What… the…" gasped the Espada as the face of Kaien melted away to reveal his true face. On top of his neck was a tall glass tank filled with fluid. Inside floated two spherical Hollow-like heads, and Sode no Shirayuki impaled the top one, and the glass was cracked.

"I've remembered…" said Rukia, her voice weak, "where the heart truly lies. Kaien-dono's spirit body is inside of you, but he isn't there anymore. Kaien-dono's heart… was given to me. Goodbye… Espada."

The glass tank shattered, and the dead Aaroniero fell to the ground. As he did, the trident was pulled out of Rukia's abdomen. She screamed in pain, then collapsed to the ground as well, remaining still.

(b)

"Yo."

Shuuichi skidded to a stop. He had grown careless… Once he refocused, he felt the presence of a powerful Arrancar just in front of him and around the corner. Shuuichi held his released _zanpakutou_ up before him as his opponent turned the corner.

A man in a long white kimono—though still similar to the robes that the other Arrancar had worn—marched around the corner, long white hair covering one side of his face.

"I guess, maybe we let you get too far inside, huh?" said the Arrancar, brushing the hair out of his face. At that time, Shuuichi caught a glimpse of half of a snake-like Hollow mask under the hair. "What's your name, boy?"

"I don't need to tell you anything," said Shuuichi in a grunt, starting forward.

"That's bad manners you know. Two opponents should always know each other's names. For my part, I am Arrancar 104, Selaterio Cervantes."

Shuuichi stopped. "Number 104? That seems like a pretty high number." He chuckled. "Guess this will be a lot easier than against number six… Alright, I'll tell you my name: Shuuichi Ito. So you know who killed you."

Shuuichi casually leapt forward and sliced across toward Selaterio's chest. The Arrancar calmly lifted his hand to block the blade. At the same time, his spirit power spiked; he had been holding all of it in.

"What?!" exclaimed Shuuichi, jumping back.

"Ah, so uneducated," sighed Selaterio, brushing back his hair again. "Just because I am number 106, doesn't mean I'm 106th in order of strength. Just so you know, three-digit numbers correspond to something called _Privaron Espada_."

Shuuichi grinded his teeth. He didn't know what that phrase literally meant, but the word "Espada" in it did not comfort him.

The Arrancar laughed. "It means 'Former Espada.' Arturo Plateado was officially number 106."

Shuuichi's eyes widened. Former Espada… That must have meant that Selaterio used to be ranked number 4 in the Espada. He would be on a whole different level than Arturo.

"I see that you finally understand," said Selaterio, grinning. "You didn't even need to tell me your name… Ichimaru has already told us about his fight with you. As well, the word came in that you only barely managed to defeat Arturo using all of your strength. This won't be too hard for me."

The Arrancar quickly jumped forward into a _Sonido_, and before Shuuichi could react, his opponent's iron-like hand sliced across his thigh and left a deep gash. The Vizard grunted and spun around.

"_Shibarikomu Kawa!_" The water ropes barely missed Selaterio, and the Arrancar laughed jovially and ran up to counter.

"Destruction spell number 54: _Haien_!"

The Arrancar, surprised, barely managed to dodge the shot; the _kidou_ smacked against the wall and exploded. Selaterio grunted, then gasped as he realized that Shuuichi had disappeared.

"_Suuiki o Wakareru!_" Selaterio couldn't turn fast enough, and got hit by the blue wave from behind, launching him headlong into the wall. He growled and turned, drawing his sword.

"Binding spell number 9: _Geki_!"

The Arrancar was held fast by a strong red force field around his body, and could only stare at the Vizard in front of him, who was grinning confidently.

"H-How could you…?"

"Ah, so uneducated," replied Shuuichi. "There's something you failed to realize about me. I was really rather foolish at first, not realizing why my full strength hadn't returned even so long after my battle with Ichimaru. I used the _gigai_ to recharge my power to full, but at the same time, it was my ultimate restriction."

Selaterio's eyes widened.

"Yes," said Shuuichi, holding his sword in front of him. "I couldn't use my full power while still inside a _gigai_, so I was still limited in my fight against Arturo. But now, I'm in my spirit form. My full potential can be used."

Shuuichi grinned and tossed his sword into the air. Selaterio's eyes followed it. The Arrancar didn't recognize exactly what Shuuichi was doing, but he had a horrible feeling about it anyway.

"_Bankai!_"

The _zanpakutou_ morphed into a large blue dragon, which unfurled itself down the hallway, and settled down on its large clawed legs, staring Selaterio down.

"Mugoi Kaiyou no Kirunami."

Selaterio grunted. "You've already seen one Arrancar release, Shuuichi. I trust you won't be too surprised by another! Slice, Verdad!"

The blade glowed a bright green, then the hilt sunk backwards right into Selaterio's hand, the blade sprouting from his wrist. More blades appeared, sliding out from his other wrist, his elbows, along his legs. Each blade hummed and glowed green as the transformation completed.

He was covered in blades from head to toe, the ultimate attack and defense at the same time. The red force field around him wavered and disappeared.

"I've been told of the way you fight, Shuuichi Ito. Your _bankai_ does all the fighting for you, and you just stand there. I'm not going to lose to you!"

Selaterio dove forward toward Shuuichi, all but ignoring the dragon, until it dove down to intercept. Then the Arrancar landed on its head, evading its jaws, and flipped over, going for the Vizard once again. The dragon's tail swatted him away.

Selaterio landed squarely. "Just like I thought," he said, grinning savagely. "You can't fight independently because you're controlling your _bankai_ with your full concentration."

Shuuichi grimaced, and the Arrancar just laughed and came in again, dodging another bite by Mugoi Kaiyou no Kirunami. Shuuichi had to temporarily sever his connection with his _bankai_ to dodge a horrible slice. The dragon temporarily froze when he did, then regained movement to counter-attack Selaterio.

"Hahaha!" laughed Selaterio. "All I have to do is concentrate my attacks on you, and your _bankai_ is useless! I know your weak point now!"

The Arrancar dove in again to slice, and once again, Shuuichi disconnected with the dragon to dodge. His opponent didn't let up, dogging the unarmed Vizard while the dragon remained frozen around them.

Shuuichi had to take his one chance. He reconnected with Kirunami, which dove down to take a bite at the Arrancar. As it did though, his arm was cut open by one of the many blades around Selaterio's body, before he was blown away by the _bankai_.

"Nice move," said Selaterio, offering a short bow. "But you can't afford to take that chance any m—… Hey, what are you doing…?"

Shuuichi raised a hand to his face, and his eyes turned black and yellow. He was able to form the dragon-like Hollow mask in a few seconds, and he lowered his hand to glare at Selaterio.

Then he and his _bankai_ darted off in opposite directions to Selaterio's flanks.

"N-No way!" remarked the former Espada, and he turned toward the dragon, raising two arms to hold its gaping maw open before it crunched down on him. As he did, Shuuichi kicked him right in the back, and he had to _Sonido_ out of the way to avoid getting crushed by the _bankai_.

"Binding Spell number 61: _Rikujoukourou!_"

Six rods of golden light slammed into Selaterio's torso, pinning him in place, and he could only watch in horror as the dragon roared in and clamped down on his body with its powerful jaws.

Both the Arrancar and the dragon roared in pain, the latter of which released Selaterio and backed up, blood dripping from its mouth. The Arrancar laughed, though his body had many holes in it from the bite.

"Don't like how these blades feel in your mouth, dragon?" rasped Selaterio. "As long as these blades are here, it doesn't look like you'll be wanting to feast on me any time soon, huh?!"

"Well," came a voice directly behind him. "I should take care of that then."

He didn't even get a chance to turn before Shuuichi's _Cero_ went off, enveloping his body. He cried out in pain as the energy wracked his body, and he didn't need eyes or ears to know the blades covering him were crumbling away under the force of the attack.

As the blast died out, Selaterio found himself barely able to remain standing. His body was smoking, and only a few blades remained of his Verdad.

Mugoi Kaiyou no Kirunami roared in and crunched down on the Arrancar's body. Selaterio grunted, his eyes going wide and his body shaking, and blood spilled from his mouth.

"You were right, Selaterio Cervantes," said Shuuichi, walking up to him, his mask dissolving.

"Damn it, boy…" sighed Selaterio through the blood. "I won't forgive you for this… Just you wait… The Hougyoku might be weak now, but… once its restored, you will have to fight even more of us…"

He began coughing as more of his blood spilled onto the ground from within the growling dragon's jaws.

"You'll be the last one to die, I guess… Pity that those other two have lasted this long already."

"What do you mean?" grunted Shuuichi, narrowing his eyes.

Selaterio laughed. "What do you mean, what do I mean? Out of the five people that came here besides you… Only two of them are left; that Quincy boy, and that useless Shinigami."

Shuuichi's heart leaped into his throat. The Quincy boy must be Uryuu Ishida… But only Renji and Rukia were the Shinigami that came. "Which one is it?! Which Shinigami got beaten?!"

Selaterio grinned, and the light faded from his eyes. "The girl did…" he croaked before his heart stopped.

His body dropped to the ground as the dragon holding him floated away as smoke, and Shuuichi dropped his _zanpakutou_ as soon as it reformed in his hand. Tears began to flow from his eyes.

"R-Rukia…"


	11. Final Song: Part 1

Yasutora Sado was taken down in combat with a single strike by an Espada. Ichigo Kurosaki was stabbed in the chest and killed in combat with an Espada. Rukia Kuchiki engaged in combat with yet another Espada, and the two killed each other in combat.

Such was the information that Shuuichi was able to gather from the minor Arrancar he had encountered. Apparently, the rumor was circulating that the Shinigami named Renji had also been taken down in battle with an Arrancar, but he wasn't sure about it.

Either way, Shuuichi was desperately flash stepping through the corridors, either avoiding Arrancar or taking them out with a fatal strike if they were weak enough.

Both Ichigo and Rukia were dead? He thought he had felt Ichigo's presence before, but it had suddenly disappeared.

He tried desperately to home in on Rukia's spirit power, but for however long he ran, he detected nothing. He wasn't sure, but there was some other strong spirit force nearby, muffling everything else. It felt like it was being held back, though; it reminded him of when Ichimaru had stalked him in Soul Society.

He finally caught onto a strong spirit force. No, there were three… Two of them were Arrancar—one of them was Grimmjow, and the other some lesser Arrancar—and the third one felt somewhat human. It was Orihime Inoue.

Shuuichi kept running. He knew fighting against two Arrancar to free Inoue was beyond his current abilities. And besides, at the moment, his concerns were of Rukia.

Finally, he felt Rukia. Her spirit force was so faint though, that he wasn't even sure if she was still barely alive, or if her body was just expending the rest of its spirit force after death. She was nearby though, to Shuuichi's left, so he turned that way.

He had to shield his eyes, as what seemed to be the sun suddenly shined down on him. Once his eyes adjusted, he looked up to see a gigantic room, opening on what seemed to be a bright, sunny sky. But Hueco Mundo was supposed to be in perpetual night, Shuuichi thought…

He stood on a long bridge that extended over the sandy ground out to the center of the chamber, where there was a large white tower. There was a hole blown out of the side of the tower, but it seemed to be old. Rukia's spirit power was leaking from that place.

In a few long flash steps, he reached the double doors of the tower, and he slipped inside. It was pretty plain inside as well, though there were some cushions on the ground, and tall windows lining the room. There was a large hole blasted out in the wall above Shuuichi, and it seemed to have been done by _kidou_. The walls everywhere were burnt and chipped, evidence of a massive battle.

It was in the center of the room, though—in a pool of blood—that Shuuichi spotted two bodies. The first was in white, frilly robes, and where the head should have been was a metal plate fringed with broken glass. The second was Rukia Kuchiki, lying facedown with her broken _zanpakutou_ at her side.

"Rukia!!" Shuuichi ran to her side and kneeled down in the blood, feeling her body. It was cold, but a quick pulse check told him she wasn't dead yet. However, there was a large hole right through her abdomen, and the bleeding from it had already started to slow as her body was drained of its life.

"Rukia, no!" cried Shuuichi tearfully, ripping large pieces off his robes and wrapping them around her abdomen. He should have known that it would be no use; even with her bleeding slowed, they were soaked and dripping in minutes.

Her body stirred, and he jumped. Rukia slowly turned her pale face upward.

"Sh-Shuuichi… You shouldn't be here…"

Shuuichi shook his head, holding up a hand to silence her, then he dug in his robes desperately. He sighed when he felt his hand grasp a small cylinder; he was worried that entering his _gigai_ had destroyed the healing medicines he kept with him in his spirit form. He quickly unscrewed the capsule and poured some blue liquid into Rukia's mouth.

She coughed and sputtered, and some color returned to her face, but she didn't look to improve much more beyond that.

"Shuuichi…" coughed Rukia, carefully rolling over onto her back. "You shouldn't be here… We lost… You have to get out of here…"

"I'm not leaving without you," said Shuuichi firmly. "Geez…" He looked down at Rukia's abdomen, and saw that there were two smaller holes beside the large one, but that hadn't gone all the way through to her back. "What could have…"

He scowled at the corpse next to them, but then his expression quickly turned to that of horror. Next to the dead Espada was the weapon that dealt the damage to Rukia. It was a large polearm, with three long blades and a blue tuft below them.

It was undoubtedly Nejibana, the weapon of Kaien Shiba.

Shuuichi slowly reached out and picked up the weapon, hands trembling. It even felt like Kaien's presence…

"I don't understand… The Lieutenant… Lieutenant Kaien…"

"…is dead, and always has been."

Shuuichi looked over at Rukia, who was staring at the _zanpakutou_ with a dark face.

"Espada Novena, Aaroniero Arlieri. He was a weak Menos, that had the horrible ability to eat other Hollows and absorb their power. Back when Kaien was possessed by the Hollow Metastasia, and killed, the Hollow returned to Hueco Mundo, where he was eaten by Aaroniero. The Espada gained all the abilities, memories, and powers of Kaien. He was not Kaien, but that is the Lieutenant's actual sword…"

As Shuuichi looked at it in horror, it suddenly flashed blue and returned to a normal katana, and he dropped it to the ground with a clatter.

"Shuuichi, you need to get out of here."

"I already told you, I'm no leaving without you."

"I'm going to die, Shuuichi."

"No!" Shuuichi shouted at her, tears forming in his eyes. "No, you're going to survive. I figured out some information… The Hougyoku is weakened now, and Aizen needs to recharge it to use it again. And… I learned from Urahara that Orihime has the ability to reverse things. I think that Aizen wants to use her to… to 'heal' Hougyoku. We're going to get out of here, and then we can save everyone else, and together we can rescue her and stop Aizen!"

Rukia began to get pale again. "No, Shuuichi…"

"Rukia!" shouted Shuuichi again, tears running down his face. He was changing the cloth around her abdomen, but those began to soak through as well. It was clear to Shuuichi—a trained fighter—what Rukia's near fate would be, as much as he tried to deny it. "Listen to me… You always told me you have a duty to protect others that can't protect themselves. You have to do that now, Rukia!"

"And I also said that… If you are not strong enough… you cannot achieve those ends. You remember that, don't you…?"

"So you just have to get stronger! Rukia, you can't die, alright? I won't let you die, because I love you!"

Shuuichi went silent and leaned backward, realizing a moment too late the words that had come out of his mouth. Rukia stared at the ceiling for a moment, as if the words hadn't yet processed. Then she slowly lowered her gaze to Shuuichi and stared at him.

Then her eyes filled with tears, and Shuuichi was taken aback.

"I… I know…" sighed Rukia. "I'm sorry if I caused you… pain… You cared very much for me, and I… was thinking so much about Kaien that I didn't even… consider your feelings."

"No… No, it's my fault. I shouldn't have let my emotions get in my way. I was only causing you further pain."

"Shuuichi…" Rukia closed her eyes, and for a moment was so still, that Shuuichi thought he might have lost her. But then she opened her eyes. "I really do like you."

Shuuichi's heart skipped a beat, and he found his blood rushing into his face.

"You've always been very sweet, and very kind to me. You are also brave, and dedicated to those you care about. I really… like that in a person. Many Shinigami I have met lack the good heart that you have."

Shuuichi's face was bright red, and even Rukia was blushing a little, though it was hard to tell because she was so pale.

"But…" Rukia looked away, looking slightly ashamed. "Even though I liked you Shuuichi, I have to admit that my feelings for Kaien were… they were on a different level. And even right now, I—"

"I know."

Rukia looked back at him, a little surprised at what Shuuichi said.

"I've seen it, Rukia," said Shuuichi, still blushing. "Even right now, there is someone else you have strong feelings for. I'm… I'm not the person that you are really belong to. The person you really love right now is… it's him…"

Rukia blushed a little more and averted her eyes again for a second. "And… Even though you may not realize it, the same goes for you. I'm not the person you're meant to be with. That girl is still out there somewhere."

Shuuichi nodded, and he began to feel a little sad inside. When he was alive, he had thought that girl was Kue… After he had gone to Soul Society, he thought it was Rukia. But now Kue was dead, and Rukia was dying…

"However… In a situation like this… If you want to kiss me, I wouldn't object…"

Shuuichi nearly had a heart attack, and when he looked back down at Rukia, he saw that she was blushing again. She looked up into his face with a faint smile.

Shuuichi watched her for a moment. Rukia's life was waning fast… She said she wouldn't mind if Shuuichi kissed her, but… At that moment, he had the feeling that her hope was gone for a kiss from a certain other. That other boy was who she really wanted to kiss right now, he thought. How could he rightfully do it… when she was in love with someone else?

He shook his head and sighed helplessly. Perhaps it would comfort her, receiving something like that from someone who loved her, anyway. At least once, before she died.

So Shuuichi bent down and kissed her softly. As he did, she used what strength she had to press up into his lips too, and all time stopped for Shuuichi. It had been a long time since he had first felt those lips, and this time it was even more sweet. They were colder, but he loved it so much more as he felt them pressing back on him.

A couple seconds passed, and he almost jumped when he felt Rukia's hand on his shoulder, pulling him down just a little more. He placed a hand on the back of her head, and pressed even harder with his lips.

His heart felt like it was on fire, and ecstasy at the lengthy kiss flooded his heart at the same time as the crippling sadness that it would be Rukia's last. Her lips felt so good…

Finally, they broke away, and for a short moment, their eyes met.

Then Shuuichi couldn't hold back the tears anymore. He gingerly bent down and embraced Rukia, setting his head on her shoulder as he wailed in despair. At the same time, Rukia embraced him and began to sob, and tears ran down her face as well. The cloth covering their respective shoulders was soon wet with tears.

"Rukia, you can't… You can't…!" sobbed Shuuichi through the tears. "I love you!"

"Shuuichi…" gasped Rukia, clutching the back of his robes.

"I love you!" cried Shuuichi, repeating it several times, unable to keep the words in.

"Shuuichi… Shuuichi, you have to go now…"

"I love you!" cried Shuuichi, burying his face in her shoulder. "I can't leave!"

"You have to go now… An Espada is coming."

Shuuichi gasped, hesitantly pulling back from the embrace and looking at Rukia. He forced his senses to return about him. The powerful spirit force that had been stalking him was closer than ever, and as the seconds passed, it was less concealed.

Shuuichi stared at Rukia, shaking his head. "I… I…"

"Run…" sighed Rukia, paler than ever, yet the tears still flowed.

Shuuichi choked back the tears that were threatening the surface, and rose to his feet. He quickly cast a glance to the sealed Nejibana beside him; without a second thought, he snatched it up and tucked into his robes beside Kirunami. Then he looked back down at the prostrate Rukia.

"Goodbye…" He turned without another word and walked toward the double doors.

But he wasn't going to run. And he'd be damned if he would let Rukia die. He came all the way to Hueco Mundo to save her, and he wouldn't give up until her heart stopped beating. He would destroy the Espada that was coming toward him. He would destroy the Espada, and return to Rukia to take her home.

There was no way that he would lose.


	12. Final Song: Part 2

"Goodbye…" Shuuichi turned without another word and walked toward the double doors.

But he wasn't going to run. And he'd be damned if he would let Rukia die. He came all the way to Hueco Mundo to save her, and he wouldn't give up until her heart stopped beating. He would destroy the Espada that was coming toward him. He would destroy the Espada, and return to Rukia to take her home.

There was no way that he would lose.

He burst out the double doors and strode steadily down the walkway. He was hardly halfway to the exit when the Espada suddenly appeared before him.

The Arrancar was incredibly tall, at least seven feet. He had long black hair, one narrow eye—the other was covered by a white eyepatch—and a wide smile. But there were two more striking attributes. The hat on his head was very large: a wide, circular, flat hat that extended almost a foot in front of him. And the weapon slung across his back was two blades shaped like crescent moons attached back-to-back. The pole with which the Espada held it extended out of the middle of one of those crescents.

"Hello," sneered Noitora, "Vizard."

"So you know who I am," said Shuuichi with the most firm voice he could muster. "That will save time with the introductions."

Noitora swung his weapon over and pointed it at Shuuichi lazily. "I've been searching for a worthy opponent to fight ever since taking down that large human boy, but most of them are already dead. You caused me a lot of trouble to finally catch up to you."

Shuuichi spun his _zanpakutou_ before him, and it released without him having to speak the command phrase. Noitora raised his visible eyebrow, and didn't raise his own weapon.

"_Suuiki o Wakareru!_" Shuuichi launched the blue wave, but Noitora still didn't move. It connected, but nothing happened. No bruises, not even any ripped clothing.

"Is that it?" said Noitora, having not moved a muscle. "Maybe I should have just taken a nap. That would have energized me more."

"You…" started Shuuichi shakily. "What are you…?"

"Surprised?" sneered Noitora. "When six people suddenly appear in Hueco Mundo and break into Las Noches, they are bound to attract attention. By now, you are the only one left alive of this 'rescue party.' I suppose I should be proud that I'm the one to finish dispatching the party. But seeing the difference between my power and yours, I can't really feel that way."

Shuuichi held his breath. "What is your number?"

"Number?" said Noitora, looking up at the sky. "Do you need to know the number of every Arrancar you fight against? Give me a break… Shuuichi, remember this… I'm Noitora, and I'm the strongest Espada."

Shuuichi's heart was racing again. "So since the Espada are the strongest Arrancar, that would make you the strongest Arrancar in all of Hueco Mundo."

"That's right."

Everything seemed to get distant to the Vizard, as if his body was preparing for the coming disaster. He looked down at the _zanpakutou_ in his hand, and gripped it hard.

"_Bankai! Mugoi Kaiyou no Kirunami!!_"

The sword in his hand instantly burst into the large blue dragon which flew off the bridge and around to Noitora's left. The Espada watched it as Shuuichi held a hand up to his face and quickly formed his dragon mask.

The dragon circled around behind Noitora to bite him, and Shuuichi leapt at the Arrancar while his back was turned, charging up spirit power around his hand and stabbing forward with it.

Without even looking, Noitora reached backward and caught Shuuichi's fist. He then held up his weapon as the dragon came on, each end of the crescent going into its top and bottom jaws.

The dragon roared and pulled back, blood spurting out of its mouth, and Noitora spun around and swung once with his crescent weapon.

At first, Shuuichi didn't feel anything at all. He just saw his own blood spray in front of his face and soak Noitora's white robes. He saw something moving out of the corner of his eye, and he looked down at it. It was an arm in the sleeve of a Shinigami kimono, and it spun away and over the bridge, out of sight.

Then he looked down at where his left arm was, only to see a bloody stump. He tried to move his arm, but only watched in horror as the stump wiggled about, causing more blood to spill out.

The pain and the horror hit him all at once, and he gave a bloodcurdling scream, backing away from Noitora. His butt hit the wall of the bridge, and he leaned backward. So wracked with excruciating pain and dazed at the loss of his arm, he couldn't stop himself from tumbling over the edge.

The world spun over and over as he fell through the air, the false sun above making circuits in and out of his field of vision. There was nothing he could to stop himself, but he soon saw a blue blur coming closer in his field of vision as he spun.

The dragon descended and caught Shuuichi with the top of its head just before he hit, and when the dragon slammed into the ground, it softened the damage the Vizard took, although he tumbled off Mugoi Kaiyou no Kirunami onto the sandy ground anyway.

Shuuichi managed to plant his remaining hand on the ground and come up on his knees, but there was already a small pool of blood under him. He looked up, dazed, to see that blood was seeping out from Kirunami's mouth as well, its teeth red.

"Sh-Shit!!" cried Shuuichi, grasping his stump. The feel of holding it shook his very soul.

Noitora soared down and landed squarely in front of Shuuichi and the dragon, looking bored.

"If that really was your full power, then maybe I will go take a nap. I have no interest in taking on someone so amateur. Though maybe I shouldn't complain… Becoming the strongest Arrancar would mean that there isn't anyone else worthy enough to stand up to me. That's too bad."

Noitora turned and began to walk away.

"_BASTARD!!_" screamed Shuuichi, unable to contain his rage, and the dragon dove forward. But instead of biting, it opened its bloody maw and shot a large black energy beam from within. Noitora gasped and turned back, but the beam completely enveloped him. It then curved upward and slammed into the cieling, sending rock and dust flying in every direction, and leaving an opening in the false sky that showed the stars shining through.

But Shuuichi's heart sank even further. Noitora was still standing there, holding his weapon up before him, which was only slightly steaming.

"Well, well," he sighed, lowering his polearm. "You still did have a little fight left in you."

Noitora disappeared and reappeared instantly next to the dragon, which also looked stunned. With a single swipe, Noitora decapitated the dragon, coating himself in blood again. The head had hardly hit the ground when its entire body vanished. Kirunami reappeared in _shikai_ in Shuuichi's hand.

"If you still intend on fighting me, allow me to put an end to your pitiful existence."

Shuuichi didn't even realize Noitora had gone into a _Sonido_ until he felt the weapon slicing into his chest. His body was frozen, and blood spilled from his mouth. He managed to look down and see the giant gash in his chest, blood bubbling out of it and dripping down his robes. His hand was shaking, but still he did not let go of his _zanpakutou_.

This wasn't right… It just wasn't right. He had gotten stronger. He had come to the pinnacle of his power, as strong as he could possibly be, even going as far as controlling the Hollow within and launching a new attack with his _bankai_. Yet now he saw his own life dripping away onto the ground.

He thought that by gaining strength, he would be able to protect the ones he loved. But now Rukia was dead, and he was shortly following. He couldn't even protect himself after all.

"I… don't… understand…" gasped Shuuichi through the blood, and he fell to his knees.

"What?" said Noitora, raising his eyebrow and leaning forward. "What don't you understand? You don't understand how I beat you? Or simply why all of this is happening anyway. Listen to me, Vizard. It doesn't matter who's good or bad, all that matters is who is the most powerful. It just happens to be the bad this time because we were willing to do whatever was necessary to gain that power, no matter how twisted it was."

The Vizard's vision was fading, and he couldn't even clearly make out Noitora anymore.

"You can become as strong as you want, but in the end I will be better than you. You can try to rescue your love, or whatever. But the true power to decide who lives and who dies is in our hands. We have deemed you not worthy."

Shuuichi fell face forward in the sand, lying still.

Noitora sighed and straightened back up. "Well, that's rather rude. He's gone already… If he had just let me go take a nap, maybe he wouldn't be laying there now. Oh well, I guess it can't be helped…"

The Espada turned and began to walk away, sighing in lament that there was nobody left that was worthy enough to fight.

Shuuichi's body slammed into him from behind, and the Vizard's remaining arm wrapped around his abdomen.

"What?!" shouted Noitora looking down over his hip. Shuuichi's eyes were already clouded, but his mouth was still moving to form words.

"_Kouri no Mai_…" said Shuuichi in a slur. The blade of the _zanpakutou_ in his hand burst into shards of ice that rocketed out to surround them in a sphere. Shuuichi gripped Noitora tightly with the very last of his strength.

The shards stabbed inward, hitting both Noitora and Shuuichi. The Vizard didn't even scream as the shards drove into his body, his eyes only widening slightly. Noitora was surprised, but the shards only shattered upon hitting his steel skin. When the attack faded, Shuuichi was only holding the hilt; the blade did not reform.

Shuuichi's grip loosened and he slid to the ground. He lay there with his eyes wide open, staring into something only he could see.

Shuuichi couldn't really feel anything anymore. His wounds had stopped hurting; he didn't even feel the blood on his body anymore. He couldn't see anything, or hear anything, or even feel any spirit power. The last thing he felt was something pulling on his soul. He didn't know what it was, but it sounded almost inviting. As he tried to focus on it, another force pushed his soul in the same direction. He could only oblige.

A little more blood trickled from his mouth before the bleeding finally stopped. The spirit force that Noitora had felt fading for the entire last part of the battle began to quickly wither. He noticed that the boy's hand was still clutching the hilt of the _zanpakutou_, as if holding onto hope.

Finally, when the very last of Shuuichi's spirit force was snuffed out, his hand suddenly opened, and the hilt of the sword rolled away.

"Tch…" Noitora stared down at him with a frown. "In a situation like this, I should say something like 'You had so much potential.' But you didn't, Shuuichi. And you never really understood that, did you?"

Noitora hoisted his weapon over his shoulder and walked away.

Shuuichi's body was left laying there, not even any wind to stir up the dust around him. Whatever ice shards were left from the last attack lay around him, and the hilt of Kirunami off to the side. His skin was pale, no more blood being pumped into his face, or any other part of his body.

Far up above, the false sun in the false sky suddenly reached the hole that had been blown by Shuuichi's _bankai_. For the first time inside that giant dome, it became completely dark as the sun winked out of existence.

And in Shuuichi's body, a pulse of spirit force suddenly reappeared. It began very weak, even lower than the pulse of a normal human, but then it steadily grew. Shuuichi's heart suddenly started pumping again.

The growing spirit force was something totally different one. No one would have been able to recognize it as belonging to this boy. He started bleeding again too, slowly dribbling out of his mouth and his wound. Even his eyes flitted a little bit.

There was a distant roar, and a figure suddenly dove in through the hole in the dome of Las Noches. It swooped down and landed next to the body of Shuuichi Ito.

It was just a Hollow, but its yellow eyes stared out of its mask down to the body below it as the spirit force continued to increase. As it calmly stared down, more Hollows flitted silently into the dark dome, flying down and encircling the body of the Vizard.

A bone-white fluid began leaking from Shuuichi's eyes and slowly spreading over his face. The first Hollow that alighted there slowly reached out a clawed hand and set it gently on Shuuichi's back.

"Our brother…"


	13. Author's Note

For those of you that are disappointed in my ending, umm…. I just wanted to assure you all, there is a third fanfic planned, so this isn't the end of the Shuuichi story. I will start writing "Cutting Wave Lashback" when the winter war arc is underway. .


	14. Author's Note 2

Well I know this is late (Four, five years?), but I thought I should let everyone know that I'm not continuing this series. I was thrown off by the Winter War arc not turning out how I anticipated, and by that time I had moved on to other projects.

Lashback was going to continue with Shuuichi's transition into an Arrancar and fighting as a member of Aizen's army, and conclude with a character from way back in the series coming to rescue him during the Karakura battle.

Right now, I'm working on a novel, and hope to have it finished late 2012/early 2013. Thanks for tuning in for my fanfics, and sorry I won't be writing any more!


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